New IPCC report confirms emission cuts needed

We need a plan now to cut our emissions, says climate change minister James Shaw of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The report notes that 83% of net growth in greenhouse gases (GHG) since 2010 has occurred in Asia and the Pacific – and that New Zealand, Australia and Japan, as a group, had some of the highest rates of GHG emissions per capita in 2019.

“The latest insights from the IPCC are clear and the case for action couldn’t be any stronger or more urgent,” says Shaw, adding that New Zealand’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP), to be published May, will set out how emissions will be reduced across every sector of the economy.

The Government has taken some action to lower the future trajectory of New Zealand’s emissions, such as the Clean Car package which includes rebates for EVs.

“But we must go further to get us on the path to net-zero,” says Shaw.

The IPCC report – which focuses on the prevention of further warming – says both domestic action and international co-operation are essential to reduce emissions and prevent a catastrophic increase in global temperature.

“The severity with which we will experience climate change can be lessened if we do all we can, right now, to limit warming,” says Shaw.

“Our climate targets are not optional, they are critical – the Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we are going to achieve them, and what we must all do to make it happen.”

New Zealanders will also be asked this month how the country can adapt to the climate change that is already unavoidable through the release of the draft National Adaptation Plan for consultation.