Wellington Regional Council says the cost of inaction is too high when it comes to climate change

Councillors have declared a climate emergency and agreed on an action plan to back it up.

It includes a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Councillor Roger Blakeley says three metres of sea level rise in the region will affect the properties of 12-thousand people, with a capitalised value of 8.6 billion dollars.

He says it's a huge sum of money, and can't afford to continue on with business as usual.