New Auditor General report explores our climate response
A new national report by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has praised our progress on climate change and offered recommendations for further improvements.
The report, tabled in Parliament on 5 November, recognises our collaborative work with other Waitaha/Canterbury councils during the creation of the Canterbury Climate Partnership Plan. It praises how climate change is embedded into our flood resilience programme and the strength of our public reporting about our flood resilience programme and our flood recovery works.
Recognition for our climate response
The report says that our flood recovery updates are comprehensive and accessible, and cover both physical works as well as financial information.
It also highlights our river rating district liaison committees as an example of transparent, meaningful engagement that gives communities influence in Council decision making.
Our future climate work
The report recommends that we consider if we need a dedicated climate change strategy to maintain focus on our climate response.
Our new Climate Action Plan sets out our climate strategy, incorporating our long-term aspirations and guiding principles. We have also integrated climate change into our strategic direction and our new core services model, and we will continue to respond to climate change across all our mahi (work).
Another recommendation is to consider how to give prominence to measuring and reporting key climate-related activities under our new core services structure.
We've informed the OAG that we’re developing a monitoring and evaluation plan to sit alongside our new Climate Action Plan and plan to report our progress towards our climate actions and sub-actions as part of our regular reporting.
The OAG recommends that all councils strive to improve climate-related engagement with iwi and hapū, and we will continue to work with Ngā Papatipu Rūnanga to identify modes of engagement that work for all parties. We are working towards becoming a Tiriti partner of excellence and have a formal agreement with ngā Papatipu Rūnanga of Waitaha called the Tuia Relationship Agreement.
Chair commits to ongoing climate action
Our Chair Craig Pauling welcomed the recognition for the work we've done.
“As the Auditor General says, climate impacts don’t respect territorial boundaries and we’ve been working across the region on a plan with shared actions.
“We were the first council in New Zealand to declare a climate emergency, and it’s great to see our work in this space being positively recognised,” he said.
“We know we must continue to take robust, consistent, holistic climate action to protect the unique taiao (environment) of Waitaha.
"We welcome the Auditor General’s recommendations on ways we can further strengthen and improve our efforts to provide a thriving and climate-resilient region for ourselves and future generations,” Chair Pauling said.
The Office of the Auditor General report
The 'How well four councils are responding to a changing climate' report explores our climate response and that of Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council and Whanganui District Council.
The Office of the Auditor General initiated the report to understand how well the four councils are moving from talking about climate action to taking action. It recommends that all councils adopt clear climate strategies, strong community engagement, and robust reporting to meet the challenges posed by a changing climate.
Read the 'How well four councils are responding to a changing climate' report on the OAG website.