Waimakariri council puts focus on climate change

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

From local democracy reporter David Hill:

The Waimakariri District Council has appointed a lead adviser as it looks to develop a plan to adapt to climate change.

Former Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Lynda Murchison, who has a PhD in environmental planning, has been appointed to work alongside Cr Niki Mealings, the council’s climate change portfolio holder.

‘‘The council is committed to being transformational leaders in this space and working with mana whenua and the wider community to mitigate and adapt to climate change challenges,’’ mayor Dan Gordon said.

Murchison farms in partnership with her husband, Jock Murchison, in the Weka Pass in North Canterbury and has worked in resource management for about 25 years.

She completed her PhD thesis - Conflict Between Intergenerational Family Farmers and Environmental Planning Processes: An ‘Economic versus Environment’ Proposition of Different Ways of Knowing? - at the University of Canterbury in 2020.

The Waimakariri District Council adopted a climate change policy in 2019 to get ‘‘its own house in order’’, Gordon said.

It has now set its sights on developing a climate change adaptation strategy for the wider district.

Councillors adopted a climate change scenario technical report, prepared by Niwa, at a council meeting on July 5.

The report identified that weather patterns are expected to become more volatile.

Annual average temperatures are expected to increase with more extreme warm temperatures, less frost days and less snow.

A warmer atmosphere is expected to hold more moisture and more average annual rainfall, but this is expected to lead to more frequent heavy rainfall events.

More flood events are expected to be punctuated by more frequent and prolonged droughts due to increased temperatures and wind speeds, the report says.

Sea level rise is also expected to lead to some changes in coastal areas.

Gordon said the council had begun ‘‘refreshing’’ its climate change forward work programme.

This included conducting risk assessments to identify land and infrastructure most at risk.

The council would also look to calculate an emissions profile for the district as it developed its own emissions reduction plan in response to Government regulations, he said.

Other initiatives include transitioning the council’s vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, planting 25,000 plants this year in council reserves and investing in other opportunities for carbon sequestration on council land.

‘‘We will be encouraging residents, businesses and communities within the district to come on this journey with us.’’