Abstract | Local leadership targeting global issues

In November 2016 the Paris agreement aimed at limiting global climate change to less than 2 degrees came into effect, providing hope to curb man-made climate change.

However, estimates based on global policies currently in place and unconditional pledges as a result of Paris indicate that we are still on a pathway for at least 2.8 -3.6 degree warming. A significant gap remains between what governments have promised to do and the total level of actions required.

Internationally, cities are increasingly being recognised as having to bridge the gap left by national governments and being able to do so more quickly.

The Global Protocol for Community Carbon Footprints (GPC) provides a framework for cities to measure and report their emissions on a community level. This information enables local policy makers to develop a better understanding of available mitigation options, their potential impacts and influence.

This presentation will demonstrate how cities and regions in New Zealand have estimated their community emissions, compare their respective emission profiles and discuss potential mitigation options and lessons learnt throughout the process. Putting the results into a global context will help to demonstrate how New Zealand is performing on a global stage and what role cities play in helping to achieve the Paris agreements.

Bio | Maurice Marquardt MEIANZ

​​​​​​Maurice is a Principal Consultant in Sustainability at AECOM New Zealand Ltd with over 13 years of experience in carbon accounting and advising organisations on sustainability issues. One of his key areas of expertise is developing community carbon footprints. He has led the development of various regional or city based footprints in New Zealand, including for Marlborough, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Rotorua, Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Tauranga.

Maurice has been recognised as a subject matter expert in the community carbon footprinting and has assisted the World Bank in their development of an internationally recognised certification programme for city level climate practitioners. He has recently been certified City Climate Professional under the World Bank Programme and is currently working towards his CEnvP climate change specialist certification.

Aside from community carbon footprints, Maurice also has extensive experience in undertaking corporate carbon footprints and Life Cycle Assessments, both from working in Europe and New Zealand and regularly undertakes environmental compliance audits and audits under the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme.

Maurice is also a certified STP Greenroads professional leading the implementation of Greenroads on the Transmission Gully project.