Bush scenery

Our Climate Pathway

He Rongoā Āhuarangi

Responding to the impacts of climate change on the District and doing our bit to reduce future climate change is the responsibility of each of us, individually and collectively. Therefore, this document presents Whakatāne District’s first community climate strategy - Our Climate Pathway.

This strategy seeks to carve a pathway for us to work together as one, to shape sustainable, low-emission, climate resilient communities and has been informed by feedback from our community. The pathway includes targets and actions for the community to work towards together. In recognition of Whakatāne District Council’s leadership role in the District, this pathway includes specific targets and actions for the Whakatāne District Council to work towards.

Our Climate Pathway defines a vision to deliver on our community’s climate change aspirations, covering both adaptation (enhancing our resilience to a changing climate) and mitigation (significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions).

Our Climate Pathway, He Rongoā Āhuarangi - (PDF, 3 MB)

A Community Strategy 

Responsibility for delivering on the goals and actions of this plan do not sit with one group, person or organisation. The Whakatāne District Council acknowledges its role in leading the community on this journey and has committed to ongoing climate action and leadership. However, we also encourage all businesses, groups, organisations and people in the community to think about how you can adopt ‘Our Climate Pathway’ as a framework or guide for your climate action.

The following organisations support ‘Our Climate Pathway’ and recognise the vision, goals and principles as part of their organisation. If you would like to add your group to this list, please contact the Council at info@whakatane.govt.nz.

If you have actions that you and your community are working towards, these can be included in Our Climate Action Plan by contacting the Council at info@whakatane.govt.nz.

Information to support the Our Climate Pathway

Our Climate Action Plan

The development of a new climate response for the district involved input from many sources, including the community. Whilst key actions are identified in Our Climate Pathway, there are many other actions that, collectively, we can work towards as a District. Some of these actions sit with Council, while others don’t. Some are supported with funding, while others will only progress if funding becomes available. But together they represent a comprehensive list of actions that we can all deliver, which can be updated and added to overtime, to guide our District’s response to climate change.

View our Climate Action Plan »

Climate Targets Factsheet

Our Climate Pathway includes targets for how we will transition to a low emission community. These targets are based on the Climate Change Commission’s Demonstration Path. The Climate Targets Factsheet outlines the carbon footprint for both the Whakatāne District and the Council, how they have tracked in recent years, and how emissions need to track to achieve the targets defined in the Our Climate Pathway.

Download the factsheet - (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Regional Risk Assessment

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has commissioned a Regional Risk Assessment. This information is a critical part of understanding the implications of Climate Change for our region. We will be developing a District Risk Assessment over the coming year, but in the meantime this regional assessment provides valuable data.

View the regional risk assessment »

Supporting Reports

The following reports were drawn upon to guide development of Our Climate Pathway and Our Action Plan:

Ethical Transition

As we transition to a low-emission District, we must be cognisant of ensuring a just transition. This includes considering the implication of a transition for our communities and other communities often outside of Aotearoa.

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