April - May 2021
Wellington knocks the socks off the city of sails
As Auckland’s emissions are set to worsen, Wellington reports a 7 percent decrease in net emissions over the last 20 years, despite experiencing a 26 percent population increase
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ellington’s use of electric vehicle (EV) chargers has tripled in the last six months, and almost 11,000 Wellingtonians are now members of car share schemes. “Combined, Mevo and Cityhop have 100 cars, some of which are hybrid or electric, and Council provides around 30 car parks for these vehicles with more planned,” says Mayor Andy Foster. A 2020 survey of Wellington car share members suggests that every car share vehicle replaces up to 11 private vehicles. “This is such a positive part of our collective response to reducing transport emissions which make up around 35 percent of our footprint. Decarbonising our transport fleet is also a critical part of reducing overall emissions,” says Mayor Foster. “In Wellington, electric vehicles and car share services combine with New Zealand’s highest level of walking, cycling and public transport use, made possible by our compact city urban form. Wellington’s recently released City Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows over the last 20 years an overall decrease of 7 percent in net emissions, even as our population has increased by 26 percent during that time. “A reduction of 7 percent over two decades is a 10
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step in the right direction, especially considering the increases in GDP and population in the same timeframe. We continue to be committed to climate action to achieve the city’s targets, a goal supported by the 92 percent of Wellingtonians surveyed who prioritised climate change action.” More EV chargers driving the switch to electric “Electric car owners need confidence that there are places to recharge, and Council has supported the installation of 34 charging stations,” says Foster.
The installations around the city is part of a two-year pilot between Wellington City Council, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and ChargeNet NZ, to assess the viability for slow charging in the residential streets of Wellington. Councillor Tamatha Paul, the Climate Change Portfolio Lead, says the EV chargers are a key part of the programme to reduce Wellington’s carbon emissions by half over the next ten years. “Vehicle travel makes up 35 percent of Wellington’s
gross emissions. Electric vehicles emit 80 percent less carbon dioxide than equivalent fuel powered cars,” says Councillor Paul. The success of the pilot programme will depend on sufficient usage of the charging stations now running, which will mean more installations in the future. Areas with few on-street parking spaces have been prioritised in the programme to encourage residents to replace their petrol cars with electric. Sustainability Manager Tom Pettit says that while EVs can be charged easily
