NZ joins ZEV Alliance

New Zealand transport minister Michael Wood has signed the country up as the 21^st member of the ZEV Alliance moving towards more ambitious zero-emission targets.

He did the deed at the EVS35 conference and symposium in Oslo, Norway, where he was a guest speaker.

“New Zealand is a leading example of how a comprehensive policy framework creates the conditions for decarbonisation of the vehicle fleet, with benefits for the climate and residents alike,” says Tim Dallmann, the lead on international partnerships at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), which serves as the ZEV Alliance Secretariat.

“New Zealand is a perfect fit for the ZEV Alliance – they will be able to add to and benefit from rich discussions among leading governments as they implement these policies and work toward a full ZEV transition.”

It has set targets to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 in line with global efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels, and the government announced detailed plans in an economy-wide emissions reduction strategy published in May 2022.

Transport accounts for more than 20% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the fastest-growing source of emissions.

As such, New Zealand has joined international efforts to move to zero-emission vehicles, including signing the COP26 declaration on accelerating the transition to 100% zero-emissions cars and vans and the global memorandum of understanding on zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The country has also announced a target for 30% of the road vehicle fleet to be ZEVs by 2035.

New Zealand has created a strong policy framework to achieve these ZEV goals, introducing a feebate scheme under its Clean Car package and creating a live database of public charging infrastructure.

Additionally, New Zealand has recently implemented ambitious new CO2 standards for cars and light trucks, supported by a feasibility assessment by the ICCT. These CO2 standards set the strongest targets in the world in 2027 and will lead to substantial uptake of zero-emission vehicles in the coming years, the council explains.

Established in 2015, the International ZEV Alliance is a platform of national, state, and provincial governments with high ambition to transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Members include British Columbia, California, Canada, Chile, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Germany, Maryland, Massachusetts, the Netherlands, New Jersey, New York, New Zealand, Norway, Oregon, Québec, Rhode Island, the United Kingdom, Vermont, and Washington.

The ZEV Alliance collaborates through monthly virtual meetings, an annual in-person assembly (most recently in Berlin, Germany in May 2022), events at high-profile international events, and webinars and interactive workshops.