LGFA launched its Climate Action Loan Lending Programme for council and council-controlled organisations (CCO) members on 1st December 2022, and is now pleased to announce that Wellington City Council (WCC) and Tauranga City Council (TCC) have been approved as the fifth and sixth councils and CCO borrowers to draw down under the programme.
On 20 June 2019, WCC declared a climate and ecological emergency and Te Atakura – First to Zero (emissions) blueprint was adopted, setting Wellington's ambition to become a net zero carbon capital by 2050. WCC has been measuring its emissions since 2014 and over the years, it has continued to improve the way it captures information. From mid-2021, WCC started measuring supply chain emissions. In November 2023, WCC set a science-based target to reduce their Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 57% between FY21 and FY30, and a separate target that 2/3 of their supplier emissions will have adopted science-based targets by FY2030. In 2023 they adopted an Emissions Reduction Plan setting out the projects they need to deliver in order to meet those targets.
TCC has accelerated its efforts over the last few years to reduce its operational emissions. TCC started measuring its emissions in 2018 and has since then achieved a 27% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions (including CCOs and wastewater treatment). In 2023, TCC committed to a goal to reach net zero by 2050 in its operational emissions and developed an Emissions Reduction Plan. The plan includes targets aligned with a science-based pathway, supported by 15 projects to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions across council operations.
Climate Action Loans (CALS) are target (or incentive) based lending structures designed to encourage borrowers to act on climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A CAL rewards a borrower through a margin discount if that borrower has adopted an Emission Reduction Plan (ERP) which sets out specific Emissions Reduction Targets (ERT). Both the reduction plan and targets relate to a borrower’s operational greenhouse gas emissions at council or CCO level. CALs are targeted to all borrowers, including those who may not have eligible projects to access Green, Social and Sustainability Loans (GSS).
As at 4th April 2024, NZ$1,784.7 million of CALs Loans, and NZ$377.2m of GSS loans have been approved by LGFA, for a combined NZ$2,161.9 million of sustainable loans.