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New Zealand to toughen climate change measures to meet targets 2 minutes read
Sydney, Australia, Jan 31 (efe-epa).- New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission on Sunday released its plan to tackle climate change, which includes decarbonizing energy, a large-scale transition to electric vehicles and a reduction in livestock numbers.
The independent commission indicated that New Zealand’s commitments to comply with the Paris Agreement to limit the global rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius needed more determined action to reach targets.
“Current government policies do not put Aotearoa on track to meet our recommended emissions budgets and the 2050 targets,” the report said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Three new targets for the country were set: an average reduction of 2 percent each year between 2022 and 2025, 17 percent each year between 2025 and 2030 and 36 percent each year between 2030 and 2035.
Commission chair Dr Rod Carr said investing in electric vehicles, renewable energy generation, climate-friendly farming practices and planting more native forests would be critical to meeting the targets.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the draft advice was incredibly encouraging. The commission has determined that the economic cost to New Zealand, as I ve said, is not as great as previously thought. In fact, there are great economic opportunities for new jobs and new business over the coming years as we transition to an emissions free economy.
The first official report from the Climate Change Commission has found the government needs to further reduce emissions to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Shaw took to the airwaves on Monday morning, saying the biggest challenge facing the country when it comes to reducing emissions would be getting the balance right between changes asked of each industry. Debate focused on a policy the Government had tried to implement in its first term: a scheme to make electric and clean petrol cars cheaper by subsidising their upfront costs with a levy on the most polluting cars. National decried the plan as a “car tax”, and in 2020, the Government dropped the policy after failing to get NZ First support. While the Greens took the policy to the election, Labour quietly ditched it from its manifesto.