With Christchurch City Council recently declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency, the Trust strongly supports this decision and recognises how serious the problem of human induced climate change is. While acknowledging that this is a difficult challenge to overcome, we see it is now crucial that quick and effective action is taken to bring about sustainable long term solutions.
One of the roles of the ‘Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee’ is to consider and report to the Council on issues relating to climate change and sustainability strategies and initiatives. With the chance for public consultation on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions The Trust has lodged a submission with this committee outlining the role they see Banks Peninsula could play in bringing about good outcomes for the future.
Some of the actions the Trust would like to Council to adopt as part of its climate change strategy would be to make the most of opportunities on Banks Peninsula such as:
- establishing large tracts of ecologically diverse permanent native forest carbon sinks
- low-carbon recreational activities reducing the footprint of both domestic holidays and international visitors
- combining these with a learning environment to further develop environmental and climate awareness, encourage individual behavior change and grow guardians for the future.
Read our submission to the Christchurch City Council Emissions Targets Consultation HERE