Climate change and the Draft GPS
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan
Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035.…
58 Comments Rod Oram: a legacy to live up to
Yesterday we had the very sad news that business and climate journalist Rod Oram had died after having a heart attack while cycling through Ambury Park on Sunday.
Rod was one of the absolute best at being able to communicate the connections and paths between how we live and how we could live – most especially and urgently in recent years, on the need for climate action and the abundant opportunities to achieve it in realistic and rewarding ways.…
A Market Model for Intercity Rail
The North Island Main Trunk rail line between Auckland and Wellington is 680km long, mostly electrified, and low speed for intercity rail (80-100kph). It’s a major public asset, but woefully underutilised.
How can we work this asset harder, to deliver way more benefits for our country and our people?…
The climate will (continue to) deliver its own advice
Yesterday the Climate Change Commission released their final advice for the government’s second Emission Reduction Plan which will run from 2026 to 2030. Notably they titled the release: Government policies must add up to achieve climate goals
While the Commission’s analysis shows the country has made progress, it is not on track to meet its climate goals for the end of this decade.…
Waka Kotahi shows its true colours
Much like Auckland Transport did a year ago following local body elections, Waka Kotahi are showing their true colours by quickly cancelling pausing walking, cycling and public transport projects in the wake of the general election. Radio NZ reports:
Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) is putting on hold hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for projects designed to reduce New Zealand’s emissions through encouraging walking, cycling and the use of public transport.…
The Future Development Strategy
This is a guest post by Heidi O’Callahan.
We currently have an opportunity to change how Auckland grows, and Council wants to know what you think.
Submissions on the draft Future Development Strategy (“draft Strategy” or “FDS”) are due on the 31st July.…
ATs 2023-2031 Public Transport Plan
Auckland Transport have launched consultation for their Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP). The RPTP is an important statutory document that lays out how public transport will develop and operate in the region. It includes Auckland Transport’s vision, goals, policies, plans for PT as well as a description for all services they intend to run and the frequencies they will run at.…
The Bicycle as Climate Hope
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan a Cycling Action Network board member and a professor at Massey University. It originally appeared here.
What role can cycling play in Aotearoa’s climate action? This question tends to prompt two extreme responses that are so far apart as to seem contradictory.…
Pick up the ball and run, AT!
This is a guest post by Heidi O’Callahan
Settle in for a long read. This post-and-a-half is too important to cut short.
At last month’s Auckland Transport (AT) Board meeting, one of the Board’s tasks was to check that AT is on track to deliver the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (“TERP”).…
Taking Resilience More Seriously
This year New Zealand has been given the clearest signal yet that we need to do our part to address climate change, both in reducing our emissions – which by most measures we’re not even trying to do – and in improving our resilience.…
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