Climate Change
Huringa Āhuarangi
Climate change is already affecting our region. Masterton had the fastest increase in annual average maximum temperatures and gained seven extra warm days (above 25 degrees Celsius) per decade, a new Ministry for the Environment and StatsNZ report shows. These trends are predicted to continue. This will have far-reaching impacts on us all from increasing pressure on freshwater, biodiversity, and our resilience against increasing weather extremes.
Council is taking a two-plan approach to addressing the impacts of climate change:
- The Corporate Carbon Emission Reduction Plan (CCERP 2021) guides the Council's journey to become a net zero carbon organisation. It is about reducing our organisational greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). These are the emissions that are a result of the day-to-day operations of our organisation.
- The development of the Masterton District’s Climate Action Plan (CAP 2022) created a set of 76 actions that the wider district could implement collectively to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts.
What are we doing?
In 2018 Council adopted its first Wellbeing Strategy, He Hiringa Tangata, He Hiringa Whenua which sets our long-term strategic direction for the Masterton Whakaoriori District. The four development areas (economic, social, cultural and environmental) are represented as ‘whenu’ or ‘weaving strips’. Environmental development is the base of the whenu because if we don’t have a healthy environment, the three other development areas cannot thrive.
Our Environmental Development Vision
Masterton Whakaoriori has rivers we can swim in and drink from, clean air to breathe, and green and blue spaces that we can enjoy and share with future generations.
Our vision for the future of the Masterton District will only be possible if we address the current and future impacts of climate change. To achieve our vision we will:
- Improve energy efficiency/conservation
- Minimise waste
- Promote and enable cleaner transport
- Work towards a more circular vs linear economy
- Work towards a low carbon economy in support of the government’s target to reduce New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050
- Prepare to adapt for future changes through building resilience, keeping informed, sharing information and being open to economic opportunities generated by a low carbon economy
To deliver on the objectives above, council has set up a climate change work programme to better respond to local opportunities and challenges, and requirements of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019.
Council Climate Initiatives
We look at ways we can have a positive impact through our work and in our community through initiatives like:
Home Health Assessment Kit
You can now assess your home for moisture, leaks, draughts and more with our home health assessment toolkit. You can borrow it for free from the Masterton Library. Dry and warm homes are healthier and more comfortable for their occupants. Cold, damp and mouldy houses can lead to serious health problems, like respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease. They are also much harder and more expensive to heat.
Healthy Homes
Council has been contributing to the Wairarapa Healthy Homes (WHH) scheme for the past 16 years. Through the programme, almost 2,800 low-income Wairarapa homes have received 100% subsidised home insulation. Find out if you’re eligible for insulation and heating grants with the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme.
Electric Vehicles
In 2017, we announced an ‘electric first’ fleet purchase policy to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles. Council now has 3 electric vehicles and wherever possible, new fleet vehicles are electric. EVs emit 80% less CO2 than an equivalent petrol vehicle in New Zealand because electricity is typically at least 80% renewable mostly from hydro, geothermal and wind. You can find a list of EV charging stations on the NZTA website.
Water Meters
Water meters have been installed on all urban properties in Masterton. Water is a precious resource and meters help to reduce consumption, identify leaks, and give users better information about their water use. In other schemes, meters have been shown to reduce water loss by up to 30% and reduce demand by 20%. Reducing overall consumption also means we use less electricity for pumping which results in fewer carbon emissions.
LED Street Lights
Around 3,000 old sodium bulbs have been replaced by LEDs in Masterton’s street lights. LEDs have a longer lifespan, lower maintenance and replacement costs, and use much less power. Converting to LED lights is expected to save up to 60 per cent of the electricity consumed by the previous high-pressure sodium bulbs, with LEDs having a 20-year lifespan, compared with four years for sodium bulbs. Switching to LED reduced street lighting carbon emissions from 134.23 tCo2e to 64.17 tCO2e.
