Lower Hutt has been selected for a major international climate resilience project aimed at helping communities prepare for extreme heat and other climate risks.
The four-year project, CLIMACARE, is funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and backed by €9.95 million.
It brings together 28 partners from Europe and New Zealand, including councils, universities, public health experts, NGOs and technology groups.
Lower Hutt will take part alongside the Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit, which helped initiate the project after years of involvement in European Union social policy research collaborations.
Family Centre spokesperson Charles Waldegrave said the aim was to make sure research led to practical solutions for local communities.
“We, with the other international research partners, decided to draw in our local authorities to ensure the research would lead to more practical solutions,” Waldegrave said.
“As a result, eight research teams in different countries are partnering with their local authorities to carry out the research.”
Lower Hutt has been chosen as an international replicator city, one of three cities worldwide that will adapt and test climate resilience solutions.
The project will focus on extreme heat, but its tools and approaches could later be adapted for other hazards, including flooding, storms and sea level rise.
It could also be replicated across the Wellington region and elsewhere in New Zealand.
Lower Hutt Mayor Ken Laban said the city’s selection reflected council’s climate leadership and its commitment to building resilience.
“The project aligns with Council’s Climate Action Pathway and its wider work to improve climate resilience for local communities,” Laban said.
The Family Centre will work with Hutt City Council and local residents to prepare for extreme heat and other climate impacts, with a strong focus on people most at risk.
Waldegrave said community input would be central to the project.
“We will help ensure all voices including Māori and Pasifika communities, older people, people with disabilities, the chronically ill, and vulnerable households directly shape what is developed for Lower Hutt,” he said.
Expected outcomes include a locally adapted climate vulnerability framework, new digital tools to support preparedness and communication with residents, and practical community-designed responses to climate risks.
The Family Centre will also develop a framework of key indicators to be used by all international project partners. It is expected by the end of September.
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