Whether they are local events, like the floods that heavily impacted our district in May 2021, or across New Zealand and the globe, we see many examples of a changing climate. And even though we might not all agree on the cause of climate change, Council has a responsibility to look after our district, prepare our core infrastructure for the future, help our community understand what to expect and show how we can be more sustainable.

This strategy is considered as an overarching document that considers all the existing work we already do. Our goal is to improve what we know about climate change, our understanding of how our essential services will be affected, and how each of us can play a role in reducing negative effects.

We’re focused on strengthening our district’s resilience with the strategy’s six priority areas, goals and actions. These include nature-based solutions, making sure we use our water in a sustainable way and our shared effort to reduce waste.

Alongside preparing for the future, the strategy intends to reduce our input to the changing climate, including reducing greenhouse gases and to celebrate the sustainable efforts our community are committed to.

We believe we have a responsibility to look after our place, to protect the prosperity of our district for future generations, providing the opportunity for them to enjoy living in our place, our district – just as we do now.

The changes in climate are already impacting our infrastructure, communities and local ecosystems with future projections of worse storms, floods and droughts happening more often, sea levels continuing to rise, and changes in the diversity of plants and animals in our region.

This means that climate change and sustainability are subjects that require a long-term vision and a coherent approach across Council activities. Council also has legal duties to consider climate change impacts in decisions related to natural hazards, emergency management, and community resilience.

Sustainability and climate change are interrelated. Sustainable actions and practices help to reduce our impact on a changing climate, enable efficient use of our resources, and help harness the power of a community.

Additionally, our Climate Change Policy and Climate Resilience Plan were both due for review. This is an opportunity for us to combine this closely related work into one comprehensive strategy, while also incorporating sustainability and linking to the Canterbury Climate Partnership Plan.

We identified six priority areas for the strategy. These areas touch on all the services we provide as a council and the strategy goals, objectives and actions are linked to each priority area. Click on the priority area below to find out more: