Climate change on agenda for workshop

Published on 11 December 2019

Feedback from Whanganui District Council’s community engagement on climate change has been reviewed and the Mayor and Councillors will meet in January 2020 to discuss the feedback and the development of a Climate Change Strategy and Action plan.

Whanganui District Council’s General Manager Strategy, Charlotte Almond, says, “Between August and October this year we were out and about listening to the community’s ideas on climate change.

“We gave people a wide range of ways to respond to us – whether it was attending a public meeting, completing a survey online or posting feedback into suggestion boxes based at libraries – and we heard from about 250 members of the community.

“The feedback has provided us with rich information about our community’s views on climate change and the role the community would like the Council to play in this area,” Charlotte Almond says.

As part of this process the Council is meeting with representatives of local iwi to consider how a Te Ao Māori perspective could inform the Council’s Climate Change Strategy work.

 A Regional Climate Change Collaboration Group has also been established and is meeting regularly to ensure that work being undertaken within the Horizons catchment area in response to climate change is well co-ordinated.

 “The upcoming workshop for elected members is a key step in the process towards developing a cohesive Climate Change Strategy that will factor climate change into all aspects of the Council’s decision-making,” Charlotte Almond says.