How we are addressing climate change

The health of Tāmaki Makaurau's natural environment is essential to all who live and work here.

Climate change means that we could all face the loss of physical structures and resources, which impacts the wellbeing of all Aucklanders.

One of the ways that we (the council) embrace our role of kaitiakitanga (guardian) for Auckland is by:

  • responding to the effects of climate change
  • supporting a low carbon economy
  • working with local communities to protect and support the health of our natural environment.

Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan

To face the challenges that climate change poses to the region, we adopted Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan in July 2020.

We developed our climate plan in partnership with mana whenua (Māori who have historic and territorial rights over the land) to make sure we incorporated a Te Ao Māori (respect of Māori customs and guidelines) perspective.

Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri prepares the Auckland region for a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It is a plan for all of Auckland to deliver, and we play an important role in taking the required actions to achieve the plan's objectives.

We recognise that we need to make essential changes to:

  • our organisation
  • the way we work
  • how we interact with our communities.

The choices we make in this long-term plan will form the basis for our ongoing climate action.

Decorative image of a storm and flooding above and around houses.

Climate risks

We have identified climate-related risks that are likely to have an impact at both a business and financial level. We are considering these risks as part of decision-making in the long-term plan.

Our top six climate-related risks that impact long-term financial decisions are:

  • increased damage and reduced access to key council assets, infrastructure and facilities due to increased frequency and severity of acute weather events
  • failure to effectively and accurately consider climate change in governance structures, decision-making and long-term planning including responding to climate risks, budgeting and planning etc.
  • inability to respond to the changing needs of Aucklanders under different climate scenarios
  • inability to meet an increased demand/load on group services such as emergency management, use of facilities and climate refugees (those forced to leave their home due to the effects of climate change)
  • failure to balance climate-related priorities with broader council objectives
  • inability to access capital and other financial products as a result of climate change
  • failure to adequately address climate change in authentic partnership with mana whenua and with consideration of key mana whenua iwi priorities.

These risks could cause:

  • service disruption (delays that affect service)
  • decreased operational capacity (our ability to operate)
  • increased maintenance and renewal costs
  • stranded assets (things we own that are no longer profitable)
  • reduced access to financial markets for funding purposes.

These impacts will affect Aucklanders through the services we provide and the infrastructure (buildings, pipes and roads) we rely on to:

  • get clean water
  • get rid of dirty water and stormwater
  • get around to our daily activities.

Sustainable financing

In 2018 we established a green bond framework to fund projects that will benefit the environment.

In 2020 we changed our green bond framework to a Sustainable Finance Framework to include sustainability-linked products. This framework outlines the overall criteria and guidelines for how we will issue and manage green and sustainable financing products on an ongoing basis, including green bonds and green loans. Visit Green bonds to read the Sustainable Finance Framework document for more information.

In 2022 we established our first sustainability-linked financial products. Financial markets now consider sustainable financing as common practice and investors can now choose sustainable funding products from issuers across the globe.

To ensure we are active and relevant in global financial markets, decisions made in this long-term plan will consider how we will meet the eligibility criteria in our sustainable finance framework, and not only in terms of the impacts on the climate.

In doing so, we will be able to access capital (financial assets, resources and investments) from financial markets at a reasonable cost, while supporting our efforts to reduce emissions and increase resilience to climate change.

You should know

The information on this page is an edited version of the proposed Long-term Plan 2024-2034. For more information see the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 Consultation Document [PDF 17MB].