Reports just coming in suggest that New Zealand’s ambitious plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050 is at risk of being derailed, as the government backslides on climate policies.
It will be recalled that In 2019, the Labour government passed landmark climate legislation, committing the nation to reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and meeting its commitments under the Paris climate accords. It requires future governments to detail how New Zealand will meet its greenhouse gas targets on the way to a carbon-neutral future.
The coalition government – which was made up of the centre-right National party and two minor partners, the libertarian Act party and populist New Zealand First party – released its first draft emissions reduction plan on Wednesday.
Figures published alongside it show the country is on track to reach its first and second emissions budgets, covering the years 2022-2030, but will overshoot its third budget and will fail to meet its long-term 2050 goal.
The country had been poised to meet its third budget but the projections have been updated, partly because the government has yet to announce robust new climate policies after scrapping a number of the Labour government’s carbon reduction plans.
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Changes outside the government’s control, including a new supply agreement that will see the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter continue to operate through to 2044, have also altered projections. The new projections show New Zealand will still be emitting a net 5m tonnes by 2050, unless the government can adopt new policies or technologies to reduce levels.
Climate change minister Simon Watts said the government was committed to the overarching 2050 target and “understands the need for action in climate change” but the government would “not accept shutting down productive sectors of the economy to meet emissions targets”.
“Instead, we will use a technology-led approach to allow production to increase as our emissions come down,” he said, adding that the government would orient resources towards research and development.
While New Zealand’s total contribution to global emissions are small, its gross emissions per capita are high, with nearly half of its emissions attributed to agriculture.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
