Strikers gathered in Aotea Square for a rally and march down Queen Street Auckland as a call for action on climate change.

Young people, Maori and Pasifika are the loudest voices in Auckland Council's call for feedback on how to tackle climate change.

The response to the proposed Climate Action Framework has flipped the usual feedback mix – normally dominated by older white Aucklanders – on its head.

Nearly half of those who made comment on climate change action were under-26, a group which made up only 12 per cent of those who commented on the council's proposed annual budget last year.

Steven Sweetman Extreme weather will become more common if global warming continues on its present path

Over-45s made up 69 per cent of those who had a say on last year's council budget, but made up only 41 per cent of those who responded to the climate framework.

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Maori and Pasifika Aucklanders totalled only 6 per cent of council budget submissions, but were 54 per cent of those who had a say on climate change.

Chris McKeen/Stuff Report shows climate change will hit poorer communities in Auckland harder.

Targeted consultation among those groups helped lift their response rate.

Councillor Richard Hills, who chairs the Environment and Climate Change committee that will lead decision-making, said he was excited by the response from Maori and Pasifika Aucklanders.

"It shows they feel they are the most affected, and have been talking about this for some time," Hills told Stuff.

RYAN ANDERSON/STUFF Richard Hills, chair of Auckland Council's Environment and Climate Change committee

Urgent action, the need to begin change in households, and a strong voice for the young were strong themes in feedback which councillors will take on board this week.

Nearly 3,000 submissions were made to the climate action framework, a document that in very broad terms outlines how the council might approach halving the city's carbon emissions by 2030, and becoming emission-free by 2050.

The opening line in the draft action framework released in June 2019, highlights the council's challenge.

Lawrence Smith/ Fairfax NZ A deluge caused major flooding in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn on Sunday. Resident James Ellis' home was waterlogged

"Auckland has 10 years to make major changes before climate change takes hold with catastrophic consequences."

However the framework itself in 2020 kicked-off two years of deliberation on initiatives that would start rolling out in the next revision of the 10-year budget from mid-2021.

"We have an obligation to act, and it would be irresponsible and reckless, not to act," the mayor Phil Goff told a council meeting which in June 2019 declared a climate emergency.

"The longer the wait, the harder it will be to reach net zero emissions by 2050," said the council's consultation document for the coming annual budget.

However the same document makes it clear that in the coming year, most of the focus will not be on citywide action, rather on "developing tools", reviewing plans, and continuing a tree-planting programme boosted to 1.5 million trees over three years.

The council has also proposed internal initiatives starting later this year, such as electrifying and reducing its vehicle fleet, and converting gas boilers at swimming pools, to electricity.

A breakdown of data seen by Stuff showed the urgency of action being the most commented-on of ten themes, accounting for 27 per cent of comments.

An unscientific scroll through comments made in informal feedback showed many expressing a need for urgency.

"Where is the doing?" asked one respondent. "Get rid of framework, just action," wrote another from a Young Leaders' Hui held last July.

Specific ideas suggested ranged from "make public transport free" to "build rooftop gardens with native plants on every building possible".

As part of the scene-setting on public views, an opinion survey conducted for the council found 75 per cent of the 1,967 surveyed agreed that people were causing climate change.

Forty per cent said they were prepared to make radical changes to their lifestyle, 42 per cent accepted medium change, and 12 per cent were prepared to make lower level or no change to their lifestyle.