More action needed to address climate change

The Climate Change Commission’s blueprint for addressing climate change suggests a step up is now required, but when that will happen probably won’t be known until later this year.

The commission’s recommendations set out the total emissions New Zealand must cut during the next 15 years and offers three different pathways which the Government will consider in an Emissions Reduction Plan it must publish before the end of the year setting out how New Zealand will meet its climate targets.

There’s little mention of any “feebate” scheme to penalise polluters and reward low to zero emissions vehicle purchases, other than climate change minister James Shaw pointing to the more than $300 million set aside in Budget 2021 to incentivise low emission vehicle uptake.

In transport, the commission says it has decreased its initial ambition on the number of used EVs that would be available in the early budget periods (2020s) but not for new EVs as the global market is rapidly developing.

“Our EV uptake may be too ambitious in the short term as Aotearoa could face supply issues”, says the commission which expects any supply constraints around new EV availability to be minor and short lived.

It has also included hydrogen in the equation for road freight and signalled some electrification of short-haul air travel may be available.

Imports of fossil fuel light vehicles should wind down by 2032 and nearly all vehicles entering New Zealand’s fleet need to be electric by 2035.

Shaw says cutting emissions from transport will be vital and he explains the Government is already taking forward the commission’s recommendations in areas like increasing the use of low emission fuels and installing EV charging infrastructure.

The Labour-led Government has done more to fight the climate crisis in the last three and a half years than the combined efforts of governments over the last three and a half decades, “including becoming one of the first countries in the world to put the 1.5 degrees global warming threshold into law”, he adds.

“However, we are yet to see a sustained decline in the pollution we put into the atmosphere. And even when we do, we need to ensure that decline continues and, in fact, picks up pace, every year until we hit net-zero. The commission’s advice makes clear that this is possible, but only if we act now.”

Shaw says every part of the Government has to commit to further action to bring down emissions in their sector.

“So from now on nearly every minister will, in some ways, be a climate change minister.”

The commission’s report says the Government is making good progress on emissions reduction, but more action is required and that meeting climate targets is achievable and affordable with existing technology.

It says the economic cost of delaying action is higher than taking action now, and that benefits from climate action will include health improvements and lower energy bills.

Transport minister Michael Wood earlier released the discussion document Hikina te Kohupara – Kia mauri ora ai te iwi – Transport Emissions: Pathways to Net Zero by 2050 setting out policies that could be included in the forthcoming Emissions Reduction Plan.

“Reducing emissions across the transport sector is a massive task, but it is achievable and will help support our economic recovery,” Wood says.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern says the commission’s final advice shows the Government is taking action to reduce emissions in all the right areas.

“The transition to a low emissions future for Aotearoa New Zealand will create jobs and new opportunities for Kiwi businesses, help reduce household energy bills, and secure our recovery from COVID-19. There will also be benefits to health because of warmer, drier homes, more walking and cycling, and less air pollution.”

Ardern says the commission makes clear for the first time that delaying action will only make the effort harder and more expensive for the economy in the long run.

“It predicts that not taking action now will cost us 2.3% of GDP by 2050, almost double the cost to our economy of acting now.

“It is smarter and cheaper to act now, and that’s why we’ve spent the last three and a half years laying the foundations for a prosperous, low-emissions economy.

“But we can see from the commission’s advice there is more to do.”

The commission received more than 15,000 submissions in response to its draft advice.

It recommends that the Government recycle revenue from the Emissions Trading Scheme back into emissions reductions programmes, with finance minister Grant Robertson already committing to doing this from Budget 2022.

“It is important to make faster progress towards meeting our emissions reductions goals and recycling ETS revenue will ensure sustainable funding is available to get there,” he says.

The commission says initiatives like the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund are crucial for supporting industry to transition to a cleaner future.

“We are making real progress to boost clean energy in Aotearoa New Zealand, but we know there is more to do. We are committed to decarbonising our energy and industrial sectors in a fair and equitable way that aligns with meeting our climate change targets,” energy and resources minister Megan Woods says.

The commission’s final advice is available here.