Dr Paul Winton from the 1point5 project presented his story to us in the WRC Chambers on 23 February, outlining both climate science and the transport calculator model he developed for Auckland to inform good return on investment policies towards decarbonisation. Work is now underway to investigate how we could do the same to help decarbonise our local parts of the transport system.
Below is the video recording of the webinar for you to see and share. If you scroll back to the start on the video you'll hear my brief introduction of Paul's background also.
Some of the key items I took away (my paraphrasing) from the talk were:
the wave of desire for climate action is coming in strong and building
the goal posts of emission reductions we need to achieve will keep changing
we will live through the most transformative times since WWII or at least the 80's
it's all about this decade and it's all about fast (not 2050)
bike lanes and buses are not a condiment, they’re the main event
don't bet the planet on unicorns (technologies not yet invented), it's not responsible governance to do so. However, welcome them when they come as your extra boost
if future generations could speak and vote, the vocal minority that often speaks so loud and tells us they don't want change would be laughed out of town.
people need visions and aspirational 'stories of the possible' and it is incumbent on leaders to make the visions
elected members, and all leaders, should make sure they get decent and quantified options to choose from (not a lack of imagination).
high emission standards (or electrification) for cars/trucks and active transport infrastructure investments are some of the best ways to reduce emissions.
Please be aware that you have an opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Waikato Regional Land Transport Plan via our website or by emailing transport@waikatoregion.govt.nz by the end of Sunday, 21 March 2021.
It sets out the priorities for the next 3 years and ultimately informs what projects may be funded by the National Transport Fund when they make their decisions (around August 2021). As I understand it, the projects themselves come through the city/district plans (so that's the place to tell them if you want different projects entirely) but your feedback on how to prioritise these projects that are already in the draft plan would be really useful to guide the next part of the process.
Go on, give even a short submission a go.