Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Climate Change & Business Conference: Day One Communique

Climate Change & Business Conference: Day One Communique


Day 1 of the conference started with speeches from France’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Florence Jeanblanc-Risler, and New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister, Hon Paula Bennett, on the next stages of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the implications for New Zealand.

The ambassador, whose country’s diplomacy is credited with the successful negotiation of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, said it is critical that all aspects of society get involved in developing plans to reduce global emissions.

The Minister said the Government recognised the need for policy certainty and a comprehensive plan to reduce New Zealand’s emissions in line with the country’s Paris Agreement pledge (to cut emissions by 11 per cent on 1990 levels by 2030), and said progress was being made on a cross-party consensus on climate change policy.

Diplomats and international experts outlined approaches being taken in other countries, with emphasis on the actions of the world’s largest emitters, China, the United States and the European Union.

The Ministry for the Environment’s director of climate change, Kay Harrison, said the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme is a chance to fix mistakes in the original design to the scheme and prepare it for the Paris Agreement, which comes into force in 2021. She stressed the need to take it slowly and get it right, and said officials will be seeking more input from businesses and other organisations.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

A discussion on the operation of the ETS focussed largely on the future supply of carbon credits, as New Zealand and other countries are relying on the ability to purchase credits internationally to meet their Paris Agreement pledges. There was also a good deal of discussion on how New Zealand should deal with biological emissions from agriculture, which make up nearly half New Zealand’s total emissions profile.

Examples from the real world saw businesses outlining how they are cutting emissions – Ikea has installed 700,000 solar panels on the roofs of its buildings, NZ Bus is converting its fleet of diesel buses to electricity, Fonterra is using heat recovery to avoid using more coal, and Countdown is using natural refrigeration to cut emissions and LED lights to slash energy consumption (and cutting 40 per cent off its energy bill).

The day ended with three challenges:

From environmental group WWF to business to challenge the government to do more – along with a pat on the back from WWF to business for the progress it’s made on the issue.
To governments from the European Union’s Ambassador-Designate to New Zealand, to do what it takes to “internalise the largest externality in history” – climate change.
To businesses from Westpac New Zealand, to get started on carbon foot-printing, to start talking to customers and suppliers about the low-carbon economy, and to start thinking about the opportunities.
Topics on the agenda tomorrow include:

Financing the transition to a low-carbon economy.
A business strategy for a 2 degree future.
Adapting to climate change.
New Zealand’s transitional pathway.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On The Skewed Media Coverage Of Gaza

Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website which is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of how Kiwis alerted the rest of the world to the genocide in Rwanda. How times have changed ...

In 2023, the government is clutching its pearls because senior Labour MP Damien O’Connor has dared suggest that Gaza’s civilian population are also victims of what amounts to genocide... More

Scoop Post Election Podcast: River Of Freedom Review

After reviewing River of Freedom, a documentary about the Wellington parliamentary protest of 2022, the Scoop Political Podcast went into hibernation. Watched by potentially tens of thousands of voters in the weeks prior to Election 23, it was unlikely to have won any votes for Labour. With a new coalition Government now formed, it’s time to look at the impact it had... More


 
 
Govt: NZ Condemns Malicious Cyber Activity

New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Judith Collins says... More

ACT: Call To Abolish Human Rights Commission

“The Human Rights Commission’s appointment of a second Chief Executive is just the latest example of a taxpayer-funded bureaucracy serving itself at the expense of delivery for New Zealanders,” says ACT MP Todd Stephenson... More


Environmental Defence Society: Briefings for Incoming Ministers

EDS examined the Government’s resource management, environment, climate change and oceans and fisheries policies in a recent Newsroom opinion piece. The BIMs take a deeper dive into each portfolio and set out EDS’s key asks of each Minister... More


Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.