Govt providing $100 million investment to mitigate effects of climate change

Six regions will receive funding from the $3 billion allocated to infrastructure projects from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Wellington | Updated: 03-08-2020 14:03 IST | Created: 03-08-2020 13:42 IST
Govt providing $100 million investment to mitigate effects of climate change
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The Government is providing an investment totalling more than $100 million for regions to protect against and mitigate the effects of climate change, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones have announced.

Six regions will receive funding from the $3 billion allocated to infrastructure projects from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

“There is no doubt climate change poses a real danger to our regions through extreme weather events, coastal inundation, and the associated problems such as erosion, flooding and the destruction of infrastructure,” Mr Peters said.

“This has a negative impact on those regional economies and their productivity. It is imperative that we are providing our regions with the resources they need to protect against these issues. And in these uncertain times, this funding will stimulate regional economies and get people into work.

“We saw the damage extreme weather did to Northland recently, submerging much of it in floodwaters. We have seen first-hand how it has set the region back. That’s why we are announcing $103.7 million for climate resilience measures in six regions. This funding is on top of the $107.2 million we have already announced for six other regions in the past four weeks,” Shane Jones said.

“The projects announced today will also create an estimate 490 jobs, at a time when unemployment looms for many as the economic fallout COVID-19 continues.”

The following regions will receive funding:

Tairawhiti – 1 project, $7.5m

Waikato – 10 projects, $23.8m

Hawke’s Bay – 4 projects, $19.2m

Manawatu-Whanganui – 5 projects, $26.9m

Wellington – 3 projects, $10.8m

Canterbury – 6 projects, $15.5m

The funding announced today is part of the $3 billion infrastructure package in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones on July 1. The fund is expected to deliver more than 20,000 jobs across New Zealand and unlock investment with a project value of more than $5 billion.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)

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