The Star: October 19, 2023

The Star Thursday October 19 2023
20
NEWS
Adapting to sea level
rise: Feedback sought
THE CITY council and the
Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour
and Koukourarata Port Levy
Coastal Panel are seeking
feedback on draft adaptation
pathways for Allandale,
Koukourarata Port Levy, Purau,
Teddington, Charteris Bay and
Rāpaki.
The city council will be
holding online webinars in the
coming weeks for people to learn
more and ask questions about
the proposals. People can give
feedback on them until December
10.
City council team leader for
coastal hazards adaptation planning
Jane Morgan said it is important
the coastal panel hears
from as many people as possible.
“The feedback we receive from
this engagement will help our
coastal panel of community
and runanga representatives
work out which combination of
options to put forward to councillors
as the preferred pathway
for each community once the
options have been developed in
greater detail next year.
“If approved, these pathways
will guide the management of
public facilities and infrastructure,
like roads, reserves and
jetties, over the coming decades
– so it’s important people spread
the word and let us know what
they think.”
Morgan said adaptation
pathways for communities could
adopt a “hold the line” approach,
where at-risk public assets were
defended by options such as
flood-proofing, but this approach
may only work for so long.
“Alternatively, we could work
with nature and retreat assets
further inland, which costs more
at the outset but reduces the
overall risk.
“Communities will also need
to be better prepared to live with
the impacts of climate change,
with public facilities, like walkways
and roads, being closed
more frequently in the future
as we experience more storm
events, for example.
“There’s also no guarantee at
this stage that existing public
facilities and assets will be maintained
and available into the
future. The closure, removal or
retreat of different assets are options
that may be considered in
response to changing conditions
and needs across the district.
“We know that sea levels are
rising in response to climate
change. Locally, they’ve risen by
more than 10cm over the last 15
years in Whakaraupō Lyttelton
Harbour, and we expect to see
a further 14-23cm by 2050, and
between 38cm and 1m by 2100.”
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Kinetic fleet to grow
MORE THAN a quarter
of Kinetic’s Go Bus fleet in
Christchurch will soon be
electric, with confirmation 10
more zero-emission buses are
bound for the city next year.
The company will introduce
the 10 electric buses across
a number of local routes, to
replace older diesel buses and
further reduce the emissions
from its Christchurch bus
services.
The introduction of these
new electric buses is made
possible by Environment
Canterbury being awarded
additional funding from Waka
Kotahi to help decarbonise the
urban Metro fleet.
The additional 10 electric
buses will see Kinetic grow its
city fleet to 51 battery electric
vehicles, which represents more
than 25 per cent of its local
fleet.
“It’s a great
step towards
achieving our
goal of having
a 100 per cent
zero emission
fleet across
Calum
Hislop
New Zealand
and Australia
by 2035,” said
Kinetic NZ managing director
Calum Haslop.
“Reducing our carbon
ELECTRIC: Ten more zero-emission buses will be
introduced into the circuit next year.
footprint is a priority at Kinetic
and so far this year, our 41
electric buses in Christchurch
alone have saved over 2 million
tonnes of CO2 emissions.
“We are working with other
councils around the country
to further leverage this special
Waka Kotahi funding, so expect
to see more electric buses on
the road across New Zealand.”
ECan chair Peter Scott said
he is delighted to have secured
the funding for Christchurch.
“This is a continuation of
the work we have already been
doing in this space – currently
20 per cent of our fleet is zero
emissions,” he said.
The new buses can be
expected on Canterbury roads
in 2024.
Kinetic is the largest operator
of electric buses in New
Zealand, with over 200 zero
emission vehicles powered
by eight electric depots
across Auckland, Tauranga,
Christchurch and Wellington,
in partnership with local
regional councils.
Globally, Kinetic’s electric
bus fleet is expected to grow to
1,000 this year with operations
in Australia, the UK, Europe
and Singapore. The company
is aiming to achieve net zero
emissions by 2035, which
includes a 100 per cent
electric fleet.
Bin good with recycling
These are the only items
that can go in the yellow bin
Remember:
Give your bottles, tins,
cans and containers a rinse,
make sure they’re not
bagged or squashed, and
put lids in the red bin.
Flattened cardboard
and paper
Aluminium cans
and metal tins
Plastic bottles and containers
numbered 1, 2 and 5
Glass bottles
and jars
By putting the right, clean items in the yellow bin, you’re helping to prevent
recycling being sent to landfill.
If in doubt use the handy look-up tool on our app or website.
ccc.govt.nz/yellowbin