Lower Hutt Community Climate Change Response

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Our pathway for Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt

The Lower Hutt community, through a co-design process led by a group of community representatives, has developed the Lower Hutt Climate Action Pathway Te Ara Whakamua o Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, entitled ‘Our race against time Ka whati te tai, ka pao te torea!’.

It sets out the pathway for our city to achieve our zero emissions target, and prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. Actions to reduce emissions include switching to electric vehicles and shifting to alternative modes of transport, moving out of fossil fuels to heat homes, and reducing waste.

Find out why our city has been doing this work:


Our co-design approach

We used a co-design approach to engage with our communities, and to develop the city-wide pathway. In late 2020, Hutt City Council established a Lead Group of community representatives to design the engagement (Phase 1 and 2). Between March and June 2021 (Phase 3), multiple hui were held across Lower Hutt to find out our communities’ priorities in order to drive the city-wide response to climate change. You can find the record of those hui as well as the Phase 3 Engagement Report under the Key Documents section. 

Between August and December 2021, we engaged with a wide range of central, regional and local government organisations, community leaders, subject matter experts and academics to understand where to build our action for climate change. We held nine 'Alignment Hui' to explore what is currently underway or planned, as well as discuss how we can strengthen connections to accelerate progress.

You can view the outputs of these meetings under the Key Documents > Alignment Hui Outputs section.

We then held six 'CoLab and Proof of Concept' sessions to explore specific pilot projects that could be developed in Phase 5 of the Programme.

You can view the outputs of these meetings under the Key Documents > CoLab and Proof of Concept Outputs section.

The information gathered during Phase 3 and 4 was consolidated into the Lower Hutt Climate Action Pathway Te Ara Whakamua o Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai.

Hutt City Interim Carbon Reduction and Climate Resilience Plan 2021-31

Complementary to the city-wide Pathway, Hutt City Council has produced an Interim Carbon Reduction and Climate Resilience Plan 2021-2031 | Mahere Hukihuki Whakaiti Waro me te Manawaroa a-Ahuarangi mo Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi. It describes what actions the council is taking as it works towards becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2050.


Our pathway for Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt

The Lower Hutt community, through a co-design process led by a group of community representatives, has developed the Lower Hutt Climate Action Pathway Te Ara Whakamua o Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, entitled ‘Our race against time Ka whati te tai, ka pao te torea!’.

It sets out the pathway for our city to achieve our zero emissions target, and prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. Actions to reduce emissions include switching to electric vehicles and shifting to alternative modes of transport, moving out of fossil fuels to heat homes, and reducing waste.

Find out why our city has been doing this work:


Our co-design approach

We used a co-design approach to engage with our communities, and to develop the city-wide pathway. In late 2020, Hutt City Council established a Lead Group of community representatives to design the engagement (Phase 1 and 2). Between March and June 2021 (Phase 3), multiple hui were held across Lower Hutt to find out our communities’ priorities in order to drive the city-wide response to climate change. You can find the record of those hui as well as the Phase 3 Engagement Report under the Key Documents section. 

Between August and December 2021, we engaged with a wide range of central, regional and local government organisations, community leaders, subject matter experts and academics to understand where to build our action for climate change. We held nine 'Alignment Hui' to explore what is currently underway or planned, as well as discuss how we can strengthen connections to accelerate progress.

You can view the outputs of these meetings under the Key Documents > Alignment Hui Outputs section.

We then held six 'CoLab and Proof of Concept' sessions to explore specific pilot projects that could be developed in Phase 5 of the Programme.

You can view the outputs of these meetings under the Key Documents > CoLab and Proof of Concept Outputs section.

The information gathered during Phase 3 and 4 was consolidated into the Lower Hutt Climate Action Pathway Te Ara Whakamua o Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai.

Hutt City Interim Carbon Reduction and Climate Resilience Plan 2021-31

Complementary to the city-wide Pathway, Hutt City Council has produced an Interim Carbon Reduction and Climate Resilience Plan 2021-2031 | Mahere Hukihuki Whakaiti Waro me te Manawaroa a-Ahuarangi mo Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi. It describes what actions the council is taking as it works towards becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2050.

Consultation has closed.

Ask us a question and we'll get back to you. We'll publish answers to more common questions in this section.

  • Share What's being done about sewage/reticulation given increased adverse weather conditions and population increase? on Facebook Share What's being done about sewage/reticulation given increased adverse weather conditions and population increase? on Twitter Share What's being done about sewage/reticulation given increased adverse weather conditions and population increase? on Linkedin Email What's being done about sewage/reticulation given increased adverse weather conditions and population increase? link

    What's being done about sewage/reticulation given increased adverse weather conditions and population increase?

    Lori asked about 2 years ago

    Hutt City Council, in its Long Term Plan, has committed to significant additional investment in our 3-water infrastructure. Please also have a look at Council's consultation on the three water reforms: https://haveyoursay.huttcity.govt.nz/three-waters-reform

  • Share I feel that the goals listed on this page don't go far enough or look broadly enough at the bigger picture. The latest reports I see in the media say we should expect a minimum of 30cm sea level rise by 2050, which seems to be what people are planning for, but looking more long term, it seems likely at the current trajectory we will see 150cm rise by 2100. How long term are our (Lower Hutts) plans? Are we going to be able to deal with a sea level rise of 150cm in 70 years time? This seems like the kind of problem where Erring on the side of caution is the most ideal solution. on Facebook Share I feel that the goals listed on this page don't go far enough or look broadly enough at the bigger picture. The latest reports I see in the media say we should expect a minimum of 30cm sea level rise by 2050, which seems to be what people are planning for, but looking more long term, it seems likely at the current trajectory we will see 150cm rise by 2100. How long term are our (Lower Hutts) plans? Are we going to be able to deal with a sea level rise of 150cm in 70 years time? This seems like the kind of problem where Erring on the side of caution is the most ideal solution. on Twitter Share I feel that the goals listed on this page don't go far enough or look broadly enough at the bigger picture. The latest reports I see in the media say we should expect a minimum of 30cm sea level rise by 2050, which seems to be what people are planning for, but looking more long term, it seems likely at the current trajectory we will see 150cm rise by 2100. How long term are our (Lower Hutts) plans? Are we going to be able to deal with a sea level rise of 150cm in 70 years time? This seems like the kind of problem where Erring on the side of caution is the most ideal solution. on Linkedin Email I feel that the goals listed on this page don't go far enough or look broadly enough at the bigger picture. The latest reports I see in the media say we should expect a minimum of 30cm sea level rise by 2050, which seems to be what people are planning for, but looking more long term, it seems likely at the current trajectory we will see 150cm rise by 2100. How long term are our (Lower Hutts) plans? Are we going to be able to deal with a sea level rise of 150cm in 70 years time? This seems like the kind of problem where Erring on the side of caution is the most ideal solution. link

    I feel that the goals listed on this page don't go far enough or look broadly enough at the bigger picture. The latest reports I see in the media say we should expect a minimum of 30cm sea level rise by 2050, which seems to be what people are planning for, but looking more long term, it seems likely at the current trajectory we will see 150cm rise by 2100. How long term are our (Lower Hutts) plans? Are we going to be able to deal with a sea level rise of 150cm in 70 years time? This seems like the kind of problem where Erring on the side of caution is the most ideal solution.

    Micah Swindells asked about 2 years ago

    Our community’s Climate Action Pathway does provide a brief overview on the likely effects of climate change on Lower Hutt, and that includes sea level rise of at least 0.5m by the end of the century. However, this could indeed be worse, and even if we manage to globally reduce emissions to zero very quickly, given the delay between cause and effect in the climate system, it is quite likely that we are locked into more than 1m of sea level rise already. Unfortunately our Climate Action Pathway does not yet have all the answers, including how we will manage scenarios like you have described. At the moment, our focus is still squarely on reducing emissions, so that we at least avoid impacts that will be worse than if we just continue with business as usual. We are also progressing work on a regional climate change impact assessment, which will consider the likely risks associated with various climate change impacts (eg sea level risk, heat, more frequent high-intensity rainfall events, etc).