Auckland mayor joins world city leaders in zero emissions pledge

Auckland’s Phil Goff is among 12 mayors pledging to acquire only zero emissions buses from 2025 and to ensure major city areas are zero emission by 2030.

Goff joins the mayors of London, Paris, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Vancouver, Mexico City, Seattle and more in signing the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration.

The policies are designed to fight air pollution, improve citizens’ quality of life and help tackle climate change.

Signatories “envision a future where walking, cycling, and shared transport are how the majority of citizens move around our cities”.

Commitments include Increasing the rates of walking, cycling and the use of public and shared transport, reducing polluting vehicles, having zero emission fleets, and collaborating with suppliers, fleet operators and businesses to accelerate the shift to zero emissions vehicles and reduce vehicle miles in cities.

Cities will report back every two years on progress.

“In Auckland, our largest single contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is from transport – around 40%, so signing this declaration signals how serious we are about tackling climate change,” Goff says.

“With more than one-third of New Zealand’s population and the majority of its growth, Auckland has a key leadership role to play and we are committed to transforming the way our people move and delivering a clean, green city for all.”