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New Zealand’s climate change solutions
"New Zealand needs to do its part in the global effort on climate change. It seems inevitable that the world is moving towards a global price for carbon. The government recognises that different sectors have different abilities to reduce emissions, and we are tailoring policies accordingly."
- Hon Dr Michael Cullen, Minister of Finance
"We prosper when we are open to the ideas of the world and when we use them to build on our existing advantages"
– Hon Jim Anderton, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
New Zealand’s future depends on the long-term sustainability of our economy, society, environment and culture. The quest for sustainability is now urgent because of the scale of the environmental challenge the world faces. Traditional patterns of development and fast-growing populations have put a strain on the planet.
All New Zealanders can play a part in responding to climate change. Many of us have already changed to energy-efficient light bulbs or improved the insulation in our homes. Some of our children are walking to school in “walking school buses”. More commuters are travelling on public transport. Many of our farmers are already managing their farms at, or near, world’s best environmental practice.
The government has put a wide range of programmes in place to enable and encourage individuals, families and businesses to act in more environmentally responsible ways. Many of these climate change solutions have wider sustainability benefits – fewer land slips, cleaner water, cleaner air, better public health, enhanced energy security, and lower energy costs. More money is going into research.
Householders have many choices. The EnergyWise Homes package (www.energywise.org.nz) provides a “one-stop shop” of information and shows people how to improve the energy efficiency and heating of their homes. As well as information about household products, the EnergyWise package will include an interest-free loan scheme for installing energy-efficient products and grants to help low-income households lower their energy costs. Already the sale of millions of energy-efficient light bulbs has been facilitated through an Electricity Commission campaign.
This is complemented by advice on the Smarter Homes website (www.smarterhomes.org.nz) and the Warm Homes and Solar Water Heating programmes. Mandatory minimum energy performance standards have been implemented by the government for many household appliances, helping ensure the products we buy are more energy efficient.
Transport initiatives
A similar range of initiatives can be found in the transport sector. The government’s Fuel$aver website (www.fuelsaver.govt.nz) and new mandatory requirements for vehicle fuel-efficiency labelling make it easier for motorists to make informed decisions about vehicle fuel efficiency.
The biofuels sales obligation requires 3.4 per cent of liquid fuel sales to be biofuel by 2012.
The proposed vehicle fleet sales-weighted standard for fuel economy will, over time, improve the overall energy efficiency of the New Zealand vehicle fleet. In addition, the establishment of the vehicle exhaust emissions rule in 2008 will promote the introduction of newer vehicle technology by imposing tighter emission standards for new and used vehicles entering the fleet.
These initiatives will be underpinned by $900 million additional investment in public transport from 2006–2010, including significant upgrading of rail infrastructure in Auckland, Wellington and nationally.
See figure at its full size (including text description). Figure 3 shows the potential emission reduction opportunities for the energy sector in comparison to business-as-usual. In the case of electricity generation, the majority of emission reductions are achieved by increasing the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources. In later years, introducing carbon capture and storage could contribute further to reductions from electricity generation and industry.
The New Zealand Energy Strategy and New Zealand Energy Efficiency Conservation Strategy provide more detail on how we can reduce emissions from stationary energy.
Sustainable land management
A critical part of the New Zealand response to climate change is in sustainable land management (agriculture and forestry).
Our farmers are already among the most efficient in the world, but agricultural emissions make up around half of New Zealand’s emissions - and are rising.
There are challenges here – and opportunities. The government proposes to work in partnership with the agricultural and forestry sectors, Maori and local government to find a way forward, but in the meantime has put in place the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative, the East Coast Forestry Project and is establishing a $50 million Afforestation Grant Scheme.
New Zealand enjoys a long tradition of farmers adopting new technology and know-how. This is continuing - with joint research efforts between government and industry (such as the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium) combined with extra funding from government to facilitate the uptake of new environmentally friendly technologies.
See figure at its full size (including text description). Figure 4 illustrates a low-carbon future scenario to 2050, showing possible technological and behavioural changes in travel demand, vehicle efficiency and uptake of alternative low-carbon fuels. The challenge is to ensure we make this move to this low-carbon scenario.
Emissions from transport are projected to increase by 35 per cent by 2030 if we do nothing. Switching fuel away from petroleum products to alternative forms of transport energy, such as biofuels and electricity, will be necessary to substantially reduce transport emissions in the future. Given our highly renewables-based electricity system, electric vehicles are a promising technology for widespread adoption in New Zealand, particularly for the light vehicle fleet.
For the heavy fleet, increasing the use of biodiesel is likely to be the main approach to emissions reductions.
Improved energy efficiency will also play an important role in reducing transport emissions. Improvements include increasing the fuel efficiency of the vehicle fleet, greater availability and use of public transport, and making our towns and cities more amenable to walking and cycling.
The level of travel is closely associated with urban form and land-use decisions. It will be important that decisions in these areas are aligned to progress towards a low-carbon transport sector.
Climate change solutions are as important for New Zealand businesses as they are for households. Not only do businesses need to adapt to different cost structures, but they can also take advantage of the strong “100% Pure” New Zealand brand.
The Emprove (www.eecabusiness.govt.nz/emprove) programme provides support and assistance for industry groups implementing sustainable business practice. Grants are available through the Energy Intensive Business programme to help eligible businesses adopt energy-efficient technologies.
The government is getting its own house in order by taking practical actions to mitigate its own greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy efficiency in government activities and buildings. Six departments are leading the way to a Carbon Neutral Public Service; the rest will follow.
Govt3 is a successful programme providing practical information, tools and case study material to government departments in order to improve their overall sustainability.
And where businesses are being managed in sustainable ways the government can ensure they get rewarded appropriately – through ‘eco-verification’ of products.
Much good work is already underway – both solutions to climate change and steps towards sustainability. But the challenge before us is great.
Energy, transport and land management strategies
The government will maintain the momentum with the New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES). The NZES sets out the government’s vision of a reliable and resilient system delivering New Zealand sustainable, low-emissions energy services and describes the actions needed to make this vision a reality.
The NZES will be accompanied by the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEECS), the government’s action plan that supports the energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy objectives set out in the NZES.
The NZEECS sets out a series of targets, and means to achieve those targets, for improving energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy.
This is supported by implementing the New Zealand Transport Strategy, which defines the government’s vision of an affordable, integrated and sustainable transport system by 2010.
In the agriculture and forestry sectors, the government will be working in partnership with stakeholders and Maori to put in place a Plan of Action for Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change.
This package includes helping farmers, growers, foresters, and other businesses in the land management sectors develop the skills, knowledge, technology, and management techniques to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change.
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
The government is also engaging with all sectors of the economy on an Emissions Trading Scheme. Very simply, the scheme will support the government’s existing sustainability and climate change initiatives by making it more expensive to behave in ways that increase emissions, and making it relatively cheaper to behave in ways that don’t.
In December 2006, the government consulted broadly on possible policy directions on climate change through the release of five discussion documents. These documents identified a wide range of potential policy options to achieve an overall climate change objective of meeting our international obligations.
The options included emissions trading, a narrowly-based carbon charge, incentives, subsidies, direct regulatory measures, and voluntary approaches. The feedback showed broad - although not universal - support for the use of emissions trading as a preferred approach for reducing emissions in the long term.
In response to this consultation, the government has decided in principle that New Zealand will adopt an emissions trading scheme, rather than an emissions tax, as its core price-based measure for mitigating climate change, alongside other policies and measures to reduce overall domestic emissions.
Internationally, introducing an emissions trading scheme is seen as an equitable, effective and efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under such an emissions trading scheme, prices are established for units that allow the holders to emit greenhouse gases. Those prices then influence the decisions of producers, consumers and investors throughout the economy, driving emissions reduction and the expansion of more environmentally friendly alternatives.
The introduction of an effective emissions trading system can be seen as a core building block for the transformation of our economy. We have not had to consider until now how the gases emitted in the course of daily living have an impact on what our world might become. We now have to do that.
The publication The Framework for a New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme outlines how the various parts of the New Zealand economy will be brought into the scheme in a staged transition with the aim that by the start of 2013 all major sectors covered by the Kyoto Protocol will be included.
Emissions trading will mean an increase in the costs of products such as petrol and electricity. The scheme will be introduced gradually, allowing for smooth adjustments across the economy, and transitional assistance will be provided to both households and industry.
In transport, the government is taking a number of steps to improve efficiency and increase the use of public transport to reduce consumers’ overall fuel use and costs. The government will put in place additional measures to reduce the financial impact on households of higher electricity prices, so that low and modest income households are not disadvantaged.
The emissions trading scheme will be designed so that it can be adapted to future changes to New Zealand’s obligations under the international climate change policy framework after 2012, and can endure if there is a gap between the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and the implementation of a successor agreement.
New legislation is required to introduce an emissions trading scheme, and the government will engage actively with stakeholders, Māori and the general public on its details. The legislation to enact the scheme will be introduced and passed during the current Parliament, and its consideration will involve a full select committee hearing process and public submissions.
No one answer
The above is not a comprehensive list. A detailed stock-take of these and other initiatives, including waste, can be found in the final section Find Out More.
There is no one answer to climate change. The government’s response must (and does) use many tools, including regulation, education, incentives and disincentives. It must cover all significant sectors of the economy, including energy, transport, agriculture, forestry, households and buildings.
