Kiwis confident about low carbon economy move

New Zealanders are feeling confident about the nation’s transition to a low carbon economy, Mercury’s survey of electricity consumers shows.

The news comes as the Government is set to announce its Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) around noon on Monday, May 16.

In total, 59% of Kiwis surveyed are feeling somewhat or very confident in New Zealand’s progress towards a low carbon economy – those aged 18-24 are the most confident (77%).

At the same time, 62% of all people surveyed felt the effect of New Zealand’s transition would either have a positive effect on them, or no negative effect.

It is very encouraging to see Kiwis supportive and confident about the actions New Zealand needs to take to combat climate change, says Mercury chief executive Vince Hawksworth.

“The decarbonisation challenge is very significant – the scale of the climate crisis demands it,” he says. 

“The energy sector is well-placed to support the country through this transition. No single sector will be able to create a low carbon future for New Zealand on its own so we will need to work together to create solutions that will make a difference.

“We’re up for that challenge and we’re working collectively with Government and other sectors to share knowledge, perspectives, and approaches to decarbonise. Our expertise is there to help policy makers and regulators work through seemingly intractable problems to the transition for energy, such as achieving decarbonisation whilst maintaining security of supply and affordability.”

The ERP is a key start to the roadmap that will help the country reach its overall goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, Mercury says.

It will set policies and strategies for meeting the first emissions budget 2022-2025 and set the direction for climate action for the next 15 years.

“There is a lot that people can be confident about with the transition to a lower carbon future,” Hawksworth adds.

“The Emissions Reduction Plan is a vitally important plan for coordinating the changes needed throughout the economy and for giving the public confidence that decarbonisation is achievable.

“To achieve collective action, it will be important the private sector receives the right policy and regulatory signals that enable investment to help decarbonise the economy,” he explains.

“For example, decarbonisation of transportation and industry will need to be coordinated with all participants alongside actions the government is taking. Good signals from the Emissions Reduction Plan, such as a renewable energy target, as well as sector policy and regulatory settings are essential when you consider electrification of the economy is likely to require a new wind farm built every nine months to achieve the long-term goal of net zero emissions.”

Hawksworth says projects like the Turitea wind farm, which will have the capacity to power the equivalent of 375,000 EVs, shows what can be achieved when the sector responds to the right signals.

“We support the work underway to develop a National Energy Strategy that can align and bring together the wealth of knowledge from the sector and government to determine the best path to decarbonise energy.”  

Hawksworth says the transition will be challenging and will need to ensure it doesn’t perpetuate inequality, along with Kiwis having a choice about how they access and use electricity.

“Under the current market settings, the electricity market is poised to get us to over 90% renewable electricity in the next three to five years alone, putting us on track to meet the Climate Change Commission’s projections of about 7TWh of new renewable generation needed by 2035 – this amount alone would power about three million EVs.”

Mercury’s survey of 603 electricity users was held between April 8 and 15.