Community resilience plan

Fuel gauge A Community resilience Plan is urgently needed to address possible energy supply disruptions.

Energy prices are rising because global oil demand continues to exceed global oil production and we have not planned an orderly transition to alternatives. The International Energy Agency is warning of oil supply problems in the coming year, and Goldman Sachs predicts oil price rises taking petrol above $3 a litre by the end of the year.

Many aspects of society – transport, agriculture, trade, tourism, and manufacturing, to name just a few – are heavily dependent on oil. Continuing oil price rises and possible supply shortages may lead to severe impacts on the Wellington region’s economy, and widen the gap between rich and poor.

Appropriate use and management of such resources will be critical in meeting our lifestyle needs in the future. It is important that a Community Resilience Plan be developed to investigate the effects of oil depletion and oil price rises, and recommend steps that they should take to prepare for and mitigate these impacts. All sectors and community groups should be involved in developing this Plan.

Whether the underlying reasons for this are geological, economic, or both, the effect is that the cost of fuel in New Zealand has increased rapidly. The Wellington region has enough renewable energy resources to support the region’s electricity needs. As the current global food crisis shows, the price of oil affects far more than just transport, although it is transport where the effect is felt first.

To ensure long term resilience in the face of continued oil price increases, we need to adapt by shifting expenditure from transport which is dependent on oil to transport which is not, and then look at other areas that will be affected.

Greater Wellington Regional Council Resolutions

Investigate effects of oil price rises and potential shortages on the Wellington region
Recommend steps to prepare for and mitigate impacts on transport, agriculture, trade, tourism, manufacturing…
Convene a forum to bring key players and interest groups to set terms of reference for formulating a Community Resilience Plan

References

Peak Oil Task Force Recommendations from Portland
Resilient Communities: A Guide to Disaster Management
Transition Towns charter that started in the UK a few years ago, and is now taking root in many New Zealand communities, also provides a useful model.