PM announces Zero Carbon Act
Posted on 19 December, 2017
Jacinda Ardern announced that the Government will start to lay the framework for a Zero Carbon Act and establish an independent climate change commission alongside Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
"This is a big task and the transition will take decades. Climate change challenges us to make fundamental changes to our economy and we have a moral responsibility to do that in a way that brings people and communities along with us," Shaw said.
"By the end of this Parliament, our goal is to have put in place the framework that will guide our economy toward a net-zero emissions economy by the year 2050."
Ardern said consultation would begin from May 2018. It was in the Government's "100-day plan" to set the carbon zero goal. The consultation period would also mean deciphering what the independent Climate Commission would carry out, however the interim commission, that is already in place, was expected to begin preparing advice for the Government from March.
"The interim committee could start by looking at agriculture, which contributes almost half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions, and how we can transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity," said Shaw."We've always been really clear we do, as a nation, need to transition. What we've had in our first few weeks are a couple of issues come to us where we've realised we've actually, as a Government, had no discretion on some of the decisions we've had put before us to take into account things like environmental impacts," Ardern said.
The recommendations from the commissioner's report, released in July this year, included an act similar to Britain's Climate Change Act and enshrining targets into law.
What the targets should be was not specified.
"Putting our new climate change target into law will hold the Government to account and place New Zealand in a small group of countries who aspire to net-zero emissions in the next few decades," Shaw said.
The Government announcement has been met with a mixed response, with Greenpeace saying that the Government's refusal to rule out fossil fuel expansion undermines the interim commission. The PSA, Public Service Association, welcomes the announcement, "Climate change will have a profound impact on New Zealand, and PSA members recognise it will fundamentally change the nature of the work they do," says PSA National Secretary Glenn Barclay. "We look forward to working with the government and others on this."
The Zero Carbon Bill is planned to be introduced by October 2018.
