Skip to main content
Wellington City Council Wellington City Council
News | 22 September 2021
Share on social

Ways to help Wellington be net zero carbon

We're working towards being a net zero carbon capital by 2050, and roughly halving our emissions by 2030 along the way. Here are fives ways each of us can take climate action to help achieve this goal.

A man riding a bike that has two kids on seats secured to the back, riding uphill in a bike lane against a steep dirt hillside.

1. Break up with your car

How much of your life can you achieve with your feet, your bike or a bus? Plan ahead for how you can get to places differently. Explore public transport options or car share services. If you have to use a car, set a goal of upgrading to electric.

2. Eat plant based food 

Choose a predominantly plant-based diet, reduce your consumption of meat and dairy to low levels, and increase your consumption of plant proteins. Enjoy experimenting with vegetarian recipes – make it a whānau or flat challenge to find the tastiest meals! 

A grey plate on a wooden table with two slices of freshly-baked bread, covered in a beetroot hummus topped with perfect avocado slices, baby tomatoes, and microgreens.

3. Advocate

Climate change is a challenge for us all. Make sure you're part of the conversation, get involved in what policies are being set and make your voice heard. Get ready to challenge yourself and others to find new ways to live, work and play in a city without fossil fuels.

4. Buy things to last

Before you buy, take time to think about whether you really need that item. Do you already own something similar, or do you have something else that could be repaired? Where possible avoid making throwaway purchases – find out how long an item will last, what it's made from and what will happen to it when you've finished with it.

5. Connect to people and place

Chat with your neighbours and community about how you can all take climate action together. Think about local green spaces and how you can support them. Plant some natives nearby, work on a community garden, create compost.

Read more

A young woman with long brown hair wearing a dark green blazer and a maroon skirt, beside a young man with shot brown hair, glasses, a blue shirt and white trousers, standing in the middle of the road with three lanes of vehicles behind them as well as tall buildings in central Wellington.

16 September 2021

Eco start-ups striving for a sustainable future

Making commuting easier, keeping food out of landfill, and creating sustainable batteries are three initiatives helping to reduce Wellington's carbon ...
Wellington City Council's climate change response manager Alison Howard with blond hair and glasses, wearing a bright orange top and a black lanyard, looking away from the camera as she gives a talk behind a podium with black wall behind her.

9 June 2021

We 'need to do all we can' to fight climate change

We’re already experiencing more droughts and floods due to a one degree rise in global temperatures. What are we doing to future-proof our city?
The back of a young boy with a grey woolly hoodie and a bright blue helmet, sitting in a black child's seat on the back of an adult's bike with a clear lunchbox, and adults sitting on a concrete bench to his left.

12 July 2021

Funding climate action for the next 10 years

Our newly adopted Long-term Plan paves the way for more climate action.