Some things are too big to tackle alone, so Tauranga City Council is teaming up with mana whenua partners, stakeholders and its communities to create Tauranga's first climate plan.

One of several council Action and Investment Plans on the go this side of Christmas, the climate plan will clearly outline what actions we can take together to fight climate change.

Tauranga City Council Commissioner Shad Rolleston says the community has made it clear that looking after the environment and reducing our carbon footprint is important to them, and the council is listening.

'New Zealand and Tauranga Moana are already experiencing the effects of climate change with rising sea levels, increased time spent in drought and when it does rain, we get a lot of it in a single event,” he says.

'Globally, if we don't reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, the climate will keep changing and we'll face huge challenges in the future. Tauranga must play its part in that global effort.”

Shad acknowledges it can be hard to know what to do as an individual or single organisation when facing something as daunting as climate change, which is why we need to take action together.

'One easy thing everyone in Tauranga can do right now is to jump online and take our survey, which will help us get this right. A youth climate conference is also being planned for early next year to ensure we include the views and perspectives of our rangatahi,” he says.

'The whole community has a part to play in addressing the effects of climate change – from government and business through to communities and individuals – and we want to hear from everyone. Some actions the council can lead, but many are in the hands of others. Our ambitions need to be broader than any single organisation or individual.”

When we lift each other up, we all win.

Other Action and Investment Plans the council is looking for feedback on before Christmas include making Tauranga more accessible for everyone, making our communities safer, and doing more to support arts and culture. Unlike the climate plan, these plans are not starting from scratch.

Instead, they will pull together actions from council's existing plans and strategies and build on feedback already received from the community to create new actions.

'We've heard from more than 10,000 people through various methods that they want to live in a place where we prioritise nature, lift each other up and fuel possibility. These plans will include actions that are already planned and identify possible new actions that can be considered as part of our future planning and investment decision-making,” says Shad.

'Together our community has decided that it's important for Tauranga to become a city for the people and live up to its name – Tauranga – a place of safe anchorage and wellbeing.”

'We know everyone's time is precious, so we're not bothering our communities by asking questions we've already asked before, but we are checking in on anything new, like the climate plan, which is a first for this council.”

To take the survey go to www.Tauranga.govt.nz/actionplan

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