February 12, 2020
Shaw hot tips coming for councils
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Climate Change Minister James Shaw says he intends to start giving councils guidance and support on what they can do to mitigate the effects of global warming.
Iwi leaders climate change group chair Mike Smith has criticised the failure of many councils to address the issue, and he’s mounting hui around the country to help hapū and whānau understand how things like droughts, storm surges and rising sea levels will affect their specific rohe.
Mr Shaw says while some councils tell the government it is not working fast enough to deliver the support they need, others are dominated by people who do not believe there is a problem.
While his efforts over the past two years have been on high-level issues like setting emissions reduction targets and creating legal frameworks, the focus can now switch to how individuals and communities can adapt.
“What does it mean in terms of how we get around, how we work, how we eat and grow our food, so it is starting to get tangible for people and in my own work, I’m also converting a number of schools’ coal boilers over to electricity or woodchip. That’s kind of the difference, going from these abstract legal concepts to what changes physically on the ground,” Mr Shaw says.
James Shaw
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