That target is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommendation to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Biogenic methane is exempt from the target and is instead aimed to be reduced by an average 1.5% each year.

Community submissions vastly preferred the average annual reduction of 8.3% over an alternative goal of 6.83%, but the council still spent two hours debating the two targets.

As the region was hammered by heavy rain for the second time in two weeks, the timeliness of the debate on how to respond to the changing climate was not lost on elected members.

Deputy mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens acknowledged that meeting the higher target will require “immense work” but warned that rising global temperatures were going to cause significant harm and the council had a duty to show leadership and do its part to limit the impact further.

“For me, the value is in doing everything that we can to pass on a better planet to the next generation.”

But Mayor Nick Smith, while agreeing action was needed, was concerned the higher target would bankrupt the council and the community, and that there was not yet a plan that outlined how the city would meet its goal.

“We are being financially reckless in buying up to targets for our community and not being able to say what the cost is.”

Smith’s concerns were shared by the council’s chief executive who advised caution from councillors.

“I cannot deliver this target, I don’t believe, unless you give me a better strategy,” Nigel Philpott said.

Councillor Tim Skinner rejected both targets and accused the council of overreaching into residents’ personal lives.

“We need to be mindful of what our roles are at this table; we have gone beyond that… [it] will have unintended consequences.”

The council’s climate change manager Rachel Pemberton said that the targets, which she advised were non-binding, weren’t just for the council to deliver, but also for the Government, businesses, and individuals.

She added that some measures, such as installing solar panels, actually saved money and that every dollar spent on climate adaptation now saved $2–10 in the future.

“Globally, if we take action now, we will save ourselves a significant amount of costs in the long run.”

Six elected members (O'Neill-Stevens, Matty Anderson, Kahu Paki Paki, Pete Rainey, Rachel Sanson, and Aaron Stallard) voted for the higher annual 8.3% reduction target, five (Smith, Trudie Brand, Matthew Benge, James Hodgson, and Campbell Rollo) voted for the lower 6.83% target, and two (Mel Courtney and Skinner) rejected both, securing the more ambitious target as the final proposal.

The council then voted to adopt its new climate change strategy, which included the 8.3% target, 10–3 to a smattering of applause from the climate advocates in the public gallery.

Chair of the climate change taskforce, councillor Aaron Stallard, hailed the adoption of the higher target and the strategy as both “momentous” and “sensible”.

“The task might seem overwhelming or large, [but] we set the rules that took us here, we can set them to take us the other way,” he said.

“We are a resourceful, cooperative, and innovative community. We can do it, and this strategy gives us a unique opportunity to give our children all the prospects of a good life, and indeed their children… we just need to get started.”

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air