The Zero Carbon Act, which National supported, directs the Climate Commission to recommend a ‘carbon budget’ to work out how much we reduce emissions each year. The first set of budgets go out to 2035. The Act also directs the Climate Commission to develop an ‘Emissions Reduction Plan’ setting out potential policies and measures to achieve this budget. It is then up to the Parliament to consider these and confirm a budget and set of policies and measures.
We will be looking closely at what the Commission comes up with.
The previous National Government implemented the emissions trading scheme. This saw New Zealand’s share of renewable electricity increase from 65% to 85% over the nine year period we were in office.
Labour has worked hard to tackle the climate crisis and provide New Zealanders with clean energy. Labour will continue to:
The Green Party wants future generations to know we did everything we could to prevent the climate crisis. Unfortunately, previous governments left polluters free to profit at the cost of our kids’ and grandkids’ futures. We need to do more. To reach our Paris Agreement commitment to stay within 1.5˚C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, we must halve our carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. This means Aotearoa must stop burning fossil fuels urgently. A stable climate for future generations means homes heated by clean energy, real transport choices to cut the need to drive, and producing food that nourishes the environment, and people. Our three priority actions would be:
