Environment Southland reaffirmed its commitment to taking action on climate change with the ratification of its Climate Action Plan at today’s council meeting (January 27).

The first draft of the action plan was discussed by council in late 2019. Its focus is on measures the council can take to stay informed, provide information, ensure its policies account for climate change, collaborate with others, and improve its own sustainability.

Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell said the ratification of the Climate Action Plan is an important step in demonstrating the council’s commitment to dealing with climate change.

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“We will continue to have a long-term focus on community resilience and managing climate change. It’s important that we demonstrate strong leadership as a council, with a number of initiatives underway and the action plan will continue to grow and evolve as we achieve milestones.”

Environment Southland initiated a collaborative working group with the other Southland councils and will be hosting a cross-council workshop in February where a regional climate change strategy will be developed.

Since drafting the council’s action plan, work has progressed on the LiDAR mapping project for the region, engineering assessments of Southland flood protection schemes and trials of hybrid vehicles to contribute to a more sustainable fleet have been undertaken.

“In February the Climate Change Commission will be consulting on their first package of advice and we expect that will provide further national direction. Our regional climate change strategy will put us in a great position to provide that regional flavour.”

Meanwhile, at the council's Organisational Performance and Audit Committee meeting today, Councillor Robert Guyton addressed a complaint received by the council about him.

"I sent emails from my council email account, signing off as a councillor, when in fact, I was emailing on a personal matter," he said.

"This was inappropriate and I apologise, unreservedly, for this error of judgement."