Dunedin City Leads on Peak Oil

In a first for NZ, Dunedin City Council has commissioned a Peak Oil Vulnerability Analysis Report, which included surveys on travel habits, private fuel consumption and vehicle dependence and the effect of petrol prices . Appendices to the Report here

It assesses the city’s vulnerability to increased fuel prices and reduced availability of oil. It helps identify the associated challenges and opportunities for Dunedin’s communities.


In welcoming the report, Mayor Dave Cull said “We aim to make Dunedin resilient in the face of impending energy challenges and it’s better to be proactive rather than reactive. This report will be of immeasurable help in identifying such challenges and framing the appropriate responses.”

The research was co-ordinated by Associate Professor Susan Krumdieck from EAST Research consultants based at Canterbury University. She was assisted by Dr Bob Lloyd from the University of Otago, who provided background research on economic conditions

The consultants recommend that Dunedin should work on five objectives to
enhance adaptive capacity, social, economic and cultural wellbeing, while
requiring significantly less expenditure on transport fuel:

1. Plan to reduce oil consumption by 50% by 2050

2. Transition Dunedin’s urban form with central city lifestyle development,
and urban villages, accessed by 100km of safe bikeways and pedestrian
zones and served by public transport

3. Build an electric trolley bus system using efficient modern technology
made in New Zealand

4. Improve Dunedin’s average vehicle fleet efficiency to 5 litres per 100km
by 2030

5. Audit and track fuel use in all sectors, organisations and households and
develop action plans

Go Dunedin ! So when will the government commission a Peak Oil Vulnerability Analysis Report for the nation ? Its only 10 years overdue.