1. METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister for Climate Change Issues
How much, if at all, will the Government’s climate change emissions target for 2020 be influenced by the Synthesis Report published last week to inform the December 2009 conference of the parties at Copenhagen?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Climate Change Issues) Link to this
The Synthesis Report published by the University of Copenhagen brings together the views of 2,500 scientists who gathered in March in Copenhagen to advance the science on the global issue of climate change. It is not an official Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, so has not been subject to the same peer-review process. The Synthesis Report is still useful, in that the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is now 2 years old. It is one of many streams of advice and many reports the Government will be considering in determining New Zealand’s 2020 emissions target.
What account will his Government’s target take of the report’s findings that climate change is tracking at above the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s worst-case scenarios for both sea level rise and the loss of Arctic sea ice?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
It is true that a number of reputable scientific reports have raised issues about both polar ice and sea level rises that are greater than those projected in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report. That is of concern, and it will be one of the factors that the Government takes into account in setting a 2020 target.
Does the Minister think that our Kyoto partners will accept a modest target at Bonn in August, when the UK has set an emissions target of 34 percent, the German Bundestag has set a target of 40 percent, and just last Wednesday the Scottish Parliament set a target of 42 percent, all by 2020?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
It is well recognised in the international negotiations that national circumstance will be taken into account. I note that all three countries the member has mentioned—the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Germany—were all countries that had a very large portion of their electricity produced from coal. They converted to gas in the 1990s, and that has actually made it substantially easier for them to achieve more impressive targets. New Zealand needs to have a credible target: one that is realistic, and one that lives up to New Zealand’s environmental reputation.
Craig FossWhat opportunity will the Government give New Zealanders to have a say on New Zealand’s 2020 emissions target?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
Nine public meetings have been organised all over the country during the July adjournment, at which my Government colleagues and I will be consulting the public on this important decision. Meetings have also been organised with business, with iwi, with scientists, and with academics. There is also the opportunity for those New Zealanders who live in more remote parts of New Zealand to be able to engage through an online chatroom, and of course we will be receiving email and written submissions on the issue. The Government will make a decision on a 2020 target policy in time for the next round of negotiations in Bonn in August.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Why does the Minister persist in suggesting that cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gases is really difficult, when half of them come from burning fossil fuels in energy, transport, and industry, and when, in terms of energy efficiency, we are so far behind those other countries in adopting energy efficiency that there is still plenty of low-hanging fruit that we could be picking?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The reasons I think it is very challenging for New Zealand are that 48 percent of New Zealand’s emissions come from agriculture, and the fact that New Zealand has one of the highest levels of renewable electricity in the world. I also note that we have a very spread-out population. In a country about the same size as the UK, we have but a fraction of the number of people, which makes providing public transport services more difficult. The other point I bring to the member’s attention is that despite very big and bold goals, New Zealand’s emissions have increased by 24 percent over the last 18 years, with very little sign of abatement, which I think is a warning about being too bold and big in an area where others have failed.
Rahui KateneDoes he agree with the findings of the synthesis reports that no climate change policy will receive the support it needs, either formally in the political arena or at the pragmatic day-to-day level, unless cultures, values, and world perspectives are taken into account from the outset; and how does he believe these perspectives will be addressed in a meaningful way through the Government’s work on climate change?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The member rightly points out that different perspectives on climate change need to be brought to the decision-making table, and she should be reassured that the Minister of Māori Affairs and his officials are taking a very strong interest in climate change policy, particularly as it relates to the fishing, forestry, and farming sectors, as well as to the process of Treaty settlements. The Government is also organising jointly with the Climate Change Iwi Leadership Group a specific hui to consult Māori on New Zealand’s 2020 target.
Will the Minister consider splitting New Zealand’s target between agriculture and energy, adopting a strong 40 percent target for the half of our emissions that come from energy, transport, and industry, and a softer target for agricultural methane and nitrous oxide, while we invest in further research and development?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
It is an interesting idea that New Zealand, in its 2020 target, could perhaps set a target for carbon dioxide and separate targets for nitrous oxide and for methane, in that I think most people would accept that New Zealand does actually have a pretty challenging job around those emissions from the agricultural sector. There is no provision for annex 1 countries, under the existing framework convention, to differentiate between different sorts of gases, but it is an idea that the Government is open to.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The European Union has presented some work at the negotiations on factors that should be taken into account when setting targets. These factors include setting GDP per capita, in terms of which I would note that New Zealand’s, sadly, is amongst the very lowest levels of the developed annex 1 countries. A further factor is the opportunity for emissions reductions. It is noted that with both the agricultural issue and aspects of our transport system, New Zealand has fewer opportunities than some other countries. Those are not the only factors. We need to carefully balance what is needed from us to make a fair contribution to this global problem, while also ensuring the target is both realistic and achievable.
Charles ChauvelIs an emissions trading scheme the financial tool that the Minister identified last week at the estimates hearing for Vote Climate Change as his preferred primary instrument for reducing emissions; if so, does he agree that it is important to finalise a new entry date into the emissions trading scheme for the stationary energy and industrial processes sectors that entails as little delay as possible on the current deadline of 1 January, next year?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
Yes. The Government does consider that an emissions trading scheme is the best and the most sensible way forward. I am advised by officials that the 1 January start date for both the stationary energy and the industrial processes sector is not achievable and never was achievable. We need to work as effectively as we can as parliamentarians in coming up with a modified emissions trading scheme that will work for New Zealand.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
With reference to the Minister’s statement that reducing transport emissions is difficult, will the Government take the easiest, most cost-effective route to that end and set fuel economy standards for vehicles coming into the country as soon as possible, given that the fuel economy of our fleet in New Zealand is roughly twice as bad as it is in Europe?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
It is true that New Zealand vehicles are both old and dirty. It is also true that an emissions trading scheme applied to the transport sector would provide some incentives. The new Government has taken the initiative to provide a tax incentive for electric car technologies, which is a step forward. The new Government tends to favour financial instruments that provide incentives, rather than getting excessively regulatory about the choices that different New Zealanders have in choosing a vehicle.
Can the Minister confirm whether the Prime Ministers of Great Britain or Australia have personally contacted his Government regarding the setting of a 2020 target, after his Government’s failure to do so in Bonn this month?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
I am aware that Prime Minister John Key had discussions about climate change with Prime Minister Rudd, and that he set both myself and my equivalent in Australia, Penny Wong, on working more closely together. I have discussed with officials the question that has been raised by the Greens, and they have not had any concern expressed to them about the timetable for New Zealand setting a 2020 target. I would note that this is the first time that a Government has consulted the public about this issue. I also say the forest satellite data from the Land Use and Carbon Analysis System is critical to New Zealand making that decision. We will receive that information next month.