Final part of IPCC climate report proves government must act

Greenpeace is demanding swift and serious action from the New Zealand government, following the completion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest report.

The report "Mitigation of Climate Change" outlines a range of options for what can be done to reduce the impact of climate change.

"It's quite clear that immediate action to cut emissions is needed", said Vanessa Atkinson, climate campaigner from Greenpeace New Zealand. "Further procrastination could have a devastating effect on the lives of billions of people across the world.

"The report specifies we need to keep a global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Centigrade, which means global emissions must peak by 2015 and come down rapidly to 50% below 1990 levels by2050."

The report also confirms what the UK Government's Stern report said in October, which was that the cost of doing nothing about emissions is likely to far outweigh the cost of taking action to reduce them.

According to the IPCC report, stabalising emissions between 450 and 550 ppm (parts per million) would cost from 0.2 per cent to less than 3 per cent of GDP in 2030, or less than 0.1 per cent per year.

Figures for the cost of doing nothing aren't given, but the Stern report found inaction could cost 5-10% of global GDP each year. Under the worst case scenario, it could rise to as much as 20%.

"In order to play our part, New Zealand must deal with our own emissions, which continue to rise and which are at unacceptable levels compared with many other OECD countries. Just today we've learnt our emissions shot up 2.8 percent (2.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents) between 2004 and 2005."

Ms Atkinson said Greenpeace had worked with international and local consultants to find the best way to mitigate climate change in New Zealand.

"The resulting report - New Zealand Energy Revolution: How to prevent climate chaos - shows it's entirely possible to achieve a 100 per cent renewable electricity sector by 2025 and cut our carbon emissions by 72% by 2050. We can do this without harming economic growth, largely by using renewable energy sources, and encouraging energy efficiency."

The Energy Revolution document rules out nuclear power and the use of carbon capture and storage as options.

"New Zealand must immediately implement an economy-wide price on greenhouse pollution, including agriculture, and establish legally binding targets for emission reductions.

"We must also set in place clear policies to achieve a 100% renewable electricity sector and to encourage public transport," said Ms Atkinson.

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