Councils will be judged if they declare "climate emergencies" and don't following through with climate action.

Dunedin has joined Auckland, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch in making a declaration.

Hutt City councillors will vote on a declaration tomorrow, and Hamilton is set to debate the issue later this year.

Local Government New Zealand vice president Stuart Crosby told Mike Hosking the declarations are promises councils have to live up to.

"Just declaring that emergency, or declaring anything without an action plan, the community won't tolerate that, so you have to have back up evidence that you are actually going to do something about it."

However, he and LGNZ still supports councils taking action and preparing for rising sea levels and temperatures

Crosby says climate change should be treated like an emergency, and they need to work out how it should be tackled.

"What's the size of the problem, how are you going to fund it? These are some of the critical issues that we need to debate and we need to debate now, not in a decade's time when we have water coming through people's lounges."

LISTEN ABOVE AS STUART CROSBY TALKS TO MIKE HOSKING

Correspondent Callum Proctor told Kate Hawkesby this morning that Dunedin councillors believed there was a strong case to declare the emergency.

"Our mayor Dave Cull was one of those backing the move. He says Dunedin needs to keep pace with the changing scientific consensus before we reach the point of no return."

Dunedin passed the motion with overwhelming support. Councillors voted 9 to 5 in favour of declaring the emergency.

Callum Proctor says this was also "accelerating Dunedin's effort to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030."