New Plymouth District Council Decarbonisation Action Planning

The ERP looks at ideas for how the New Plymouth community can reduce its emissions, as well as the actions NPDC will take to reduce its operational emission. The project included:

• Deep dive interviews between NPDC asset managers and WSP’s decarbonisation specialists to devise key actions to embed into the long-term plan.
• Development of Marginal Abatement Cost Curves showing where the value for money is in carbon reduction.
• Projected the financial cost of different reduction pathways, enabling NPDC to accurately cost, plan and budget for chosen investments.

CLIENT BRIEF/CHALLENGES

Climate mitigation and adaption policies will impact planning and development across all sectors. The ‘Zero Carbon’ Climate Change Response Amendment Bill was passed in November 2019. The bill targets net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In May 2022 the Government will set the first three emissions budgets out to 2035 and release the country’s first emissions reduction plan detailing the policies it will use to achieve the budgets. It is the anticipation of these carbon budgets, and policy trends that NPDC is preparing an Emissions Reduction Plan. In doing so will play a leading role in New Zealand transition to a low carbon economy.

OUR SOLUTION

A robust Emissions Reduction Plan requires actions that have been tested by sector decarbonisation specialists. A longlist of actions was collaboratively developed alongside NPDC and then tested by WSP’s specialists to prove each action:

• Financial costs and savings
• GHG costs and savings
• Payback period
• Feasibility and implementation timelines

A key learning was including illustrations of three different carbon reduction pathways for NPDC, including:

Comparing these potential pathways showed the financial cost of each pathway and the ability of each to achieve NPDC’s emissions reduction targets. NPDC decision makers gained clarity over which investments should be prioritised for upcoming budgets and became confident in progress toward the council’s emissions reduction target.

DECARBONISATION PATHWAYS

CLIENT/COMMUNITY BENEFITS

New Plymouth’s community emissions profile saw a total of gross 1,776,478 tCO2e produced in 2018. Without actions implemented by NPDC, WSP’s findings showed that the community’s emissions would not reduce fast enough, falling short of council targets. The project identified 8 actions already committed to the LTP and recommended a further 26 actions that would reduce the community’s emissions. These actions included (but are not limited to):

• Forestry and additional reserve’s planting
• Sustainable council procurement, including decarbonised infrastructure delivery
• Transport mode shift infrastructure
• Improvements to the collection and destruction efficiency at the Colson Road Landfill
• Upgrading the thermal dryer in a WWTP
• Replacing the boilers at the aquatic centre with low temperature heat pumps

These actions support equitable solutions and broader outcomes for the community, including; improved public health and wellbeing, accessibility, restoring nature and biodiversity and building a resilient economy.

KEY FACTS

• A total of gross 1,776,478 tCO2e produced in 2018
• The project identified 8 actions already committed to the LTP
• WSP recommended a further 26 actions that would reduce the community’s emissions

SERVICES PROVIDED

• EV charging infrastructure
• EV bus networks
• Active modes and behavior change
• Stationary energy
• Building energy efficiency
• Wastewater treatment emissions
• Waste and landfills
• Land use planning
• Forestry, offsetting and the Emissions Trading Scheme
• Advisory services