Climate Change: Auckland mayor Phil Goff says 2030 target 'tough but achievable'

Thursday, 13 May 2021

Meeting Auckland's goal of halving carbon emissions by 2030 'will be tough', but it is achievable, the mayor says. (Video from May 2021)

Auckland mayor Phil Goff says meeting the council’s goal of halving carbon emissions by 2030 is “tough but achievable”.

Goff cited the bulk of new housing being inside existing urban limits, major new public transport projects, and the eventual end of the production of petrol and diesel vehicles are key factors.

The big part played by transport in Auckland’s carbon footprint means that sector will need to cut emissions by an estimated 64 per cent in the next nine years.

Congestion on the Southern Motorway out of Auckland. Phil Goff said vehicle manufacturers moving from petrol or diesel to electric will help lower the city’s carbon emissions. (File photo)

Goff’s grounds for believing the goal is doable, have been called a “smokescreen” by one of the leading proponents for more dramatic action, in order for the targets to be reached.

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Phil Goff cuts a ribbon to launch the City Link eBus electric fleet.

“It’s a smokescreen that gives the impression that action on the scale required is happening,” said Paul Winton, an engineer and analyst who founded the 1.5 Project.

“There is nothing on the table that will deliver the scale of what is needed,” Winton told Stuff.

The mayor’s view on climate change action was outlined in an interview with Stuff.

School Strike for Climate protesters marched up Queen St in Auckland in April 2021.

Goff declined to answer yes or no, to whether he thought the 2030 goal was achievable, but said: “I think it’ll be tough, I think it will be achievable.”

“You’re likely to see far greater progress in the latter part of the decade than the first part of the decade,” Goff said, of emissions which have yet to begin a downward trend.

While Goff himself in 2017 travelled to Paris to sign a pledge with the global C40 cities group, to halve emissions by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050, he said the major change was in the government’s court.

All Aboard climate coalition members Paul Winton, left, Jenny Cooper QC and David Robertson address Auckland Council's planning committee in 2020.

“They are a critical partner to us - Auckland Council in contrast to the government is a relatively small player in terms of what it can and can’t do but we can be a really good partner,” he said.

Stuff asked Goff what dramatic change might come in the latter part of the decade to accelerate the fall in the city’s carbon emissions.

Climate campaigner Paul Winton thinks lockdown's car-free roads offer a glimpse of our future transport system.(Video from October 2019)

“Vehicle manufacturers across the world will cease to manufacture carbon emitting cars by 2030-2032 and we have to be prepared for that,” he said.

Asked what would change Aucklander’s behaviour in the shorter term, Goff pointed to the City Rail Link due to open in 2024, and movement on building Light Rail.

Goff said behavioural change was also occurring, with two-thirds of new housing being town houses and apartments on existing urban sites.

The 'All Aboard' climate coalition is putting the heat on Auckland councillors.(Video from March 2021)

“You are fundamentally changing people’s lives when they are not living in the traditional urban sprawl at the end of a motorway,” Goff said.

Auckland Council has committed to its climate action goals through declaring a climate emergency, and completing a Climate Plan, outlining what needs to be done.

Winton acknowledged the importance of both moves, but said action was missing.

He said all of the current transport plans for the next decade, and some future government policies, would at best reduce transport emissions by 12 per cent.

“There is a 52 per cent deficit accounted for by nothing, and that’s after a $30 billion (draft Regional Land Transport Plan) programme,” said Winton.

The City Rail Link once operational will help in that direction, but only by 1 per cent, and Light Rail will reduce emissions by about 2 per cent,” he said.

Aerial image of the northern section of the proposed Mill Road arterial south of Manukau in Auckland.

Winton said while government had “big levers” it could pull, so too did local government.

“Paris has promised to pull out 160,000 parking spaces to accommodate more road to cycling - roads here are controlled by Auckland Transport which can redeploy them for public transport buses,” he told Stuff.

Winton is part of the All Aboard coalition which has met the Regional Land Transport committee and told them the proposed 10-year plan is unlawful because it fails to deliver the promised carbon reductions.

Auckland’s mayor Phil Goff believes electric cars will play a big part in cutting the city’s carbon emissions.

“They (the committee) are concerned about what happens if they don’t sign the RLTP - there’s a house of cards that starts to fall, funding can dry up.”

“The critical point is that for a brief moment in time they have their hand over the stop button, and if that causes mayhem, then it will force the Minister, Waka Kotahi and Auckland Council into one room, aligned with the public interest,” he said.

Winton has spent more than a year meeting and lobbying all the decision-makers in Auckland, arguing that the current path of transport projects won’t move the emissions dial.

“They all say there’s nothing we can do, but you need to talk to that organisation over there,” he said.

All Aboard has also sought a judicial review of the government’s proposed Mill Road arterial route in southern Auckland, a project Stuff understands could cost $3 billion, and which Waka Kotahi expects will boost emissions.

Stuff asked Goff whether he thought Mill Road should go ahead as currently planned.

“That’s a decision before the government at the moment and they currently have the Mill Road project on hold,” said Goff.

Stuff asked the mayor for his own views on the merits of the Mill Road project.

“Its merits, if we are all driving electric cars, from a carbon emissions point of view would be much more sustainable - when we move from petrol and diesel cars to electric cars we’ll still need roads,” he replied.

Goff said the council's own proposed ten year budget included $150 million to climate actions, and could have been more if not for the financial hit from Covid-19.

“I think you can anticipate in next year's annual budget that we will ramp up our efforts further in terms of our investment in ways of cutting carbon emissions in this city, by council, and by working in partnership with government,” he said.

Both the council’s Ten Year Budget, and the joint council-government Regional Land Transport Plan are due to be finalised in June.