Climate projects' funds cut

Loss of funding for the Nelson Environment Centre's leading climate change projects is short-sighted and tragic, says Green MP Kevin Hague.

The Ministry for the Environment's Sustainable Management Fund has rejected a second year of funding for the centre's Transition Nelson and Code Red initiatives.

The centre's general manager, Katy Steele, said if it did not get funding, the two projects would fold at the end of June. She said: "We were given a strong impression from the ministry that we would receive funding for at least another year and that's why we put the effort into launching Code Red just a few weeks ago."

The centre is seeking a review of the fund's decision.

Environment Minister and Nelson MP Nick Smith said a review of how the fund operated would be made next year. The fund was heavily oversubscribed and continuity of funding was important. However, it would be up to the Nelson centre to try to secure other funding this year.

The centre received $152,000 from the Environment Ministry fund in July last year to set up its Transition Nelson and Code Red initiatives.

Transition Towns are a global network of towns and cities dedicated to raising awareness of the impact small-scale community change has on sustainability. Code Red is a carbon reduction rewards scheme giving Nelsonians website information on how to reduce their carbon footprint and offers prizes when they pledge to take action.

Mr Hague said Transition Towns was now a worldwide phenomenon that was growing rapidly because people wanted to do practical things for changes that were coming. Transition Nelson had been at the forefront of the movement in New Zealand, so its loss of funding was significant nationally.

The fund is contestable, meaning funds have to be applied for each year.

Dr Smith said this year that the fund had received applications totalling $21 million for $3.84m available.

An independent panel determined which projects would get funding, and as minister he had to remain neutral.

The panel rejected funding for the Transition Nelson project because it felt the proposed solution might be difficult to evaluate and said the application would have benefited from focusing on the delivery of a practical project. On the Code Red application, it said the number of people impacted should have been more than was outlined in the application.

Dr Smith said: "It would have been better not to have given funding last year if it was going to be cut the next year, or to have provided a continuity of funding. It is something we will look at in the review next year."

More money could not be allocated to the fund in the current financial situation, he said.

Ms Steele said the centre had questioned some of the fund's statements and was seeking a review of the decision and process.

Ministry projects and partnerships manager Cameron Sherley said it still supported the centre through ongoing funding under the ministry's Environment Centre Fund.

Mr Hague said he would meet centre personnel in Nelson next Monday to see if there were ways of resurrecting funding.

- © Fairfax NZ News