(CU)_Back in 2015, the government of New Zealand pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 39 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. However, earlier this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s administration announced plans to submit tougher targets after the Climate Change Commission found the 2015 commitments to be inadequate.
Accordingly, just a day before the UN climate summit, PM Ardern and Climate Change Minister James Shaw pledged to halve the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as part of its to tackle the climate crisis. Under the Paris Agreement the Trans-Tasman nation agreed to slash their carbon emissions in order to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Accordingly, the recent announcement will be a part of New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which are at the heart of the Paris accord to meet the aforementioned goals.
“To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the science shows we now have about eight years left to almost halve global greenhouse gas emissions,” Shaw said. “That’s eight years for countries to make the necessary plans, put in place policies, implement them, and ultimately deliver the cut.”
However, members of the opposition are of the view that the new target for 2030 could cripple the economy of the island nation.
“It is true that other countries have announced similar target numbers to this, but we need to consider that New Zealand already has high levels of renewable electricity production and higher levels of agricultural emissions. This makes a 50 per cent target much harder for New Zealand to achieve,” National’s climate change spokesman Stuart Smith said. “National supports using global carbon markets to achieve our targets, but there is no sense in setting a target that over-reaches and simply signs New Zealand up to a huge bill as we buy units from overseas.”
Nevertheless, PM Ardern claims that this enhanced commitment represents New Zealand’s fair share in fighting climate change, and is in line with what is required to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
“Climate change is a priority for the Government because it’s a threat to our economy, our environment and our everyday lives. Lifting our commitment is an investment in a stable climate that will benefit us all in the future,” she said. “While we are a small contributor to global emissions, as a county surrounded by oceans and an economy reliant on our land we are not immune to the impact of climate change, so it’s critical we pull our weight.”
