What are the three key actions your party would support, to move toward Zero Carbon?

National

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

Labour has worked hard to tackle the climate crisis and provide New Zealanders with clean energy. Labour will continue to: 

• Work with farmers on our world-first partnership to reduce primary sector climate emissions at the farm level
• Prepare New Zealand for the future by driving the electrification of the New Zealand economy and replacing the use of fossil fuel for transport and industrial heat 
• Move towards 100% renewable electricity.

Greens

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:

• Implement comprehensive plans for every sector of the economy to meet the emissions budgets the Climate Change Commission sets down, including using price signals on emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme.
• Reduce transport emissions by making electric cars more affordable and investing in better cycle lanes, buses, and trains.
• Reduce energy emissions by ending coal use by 2030 and industrial gas use by 2035. Bring forward the Government’s 100% renewable electricity target to 2030, and reduce the cost of solar panels and batteries for all New Zealanders including equipping all suitable state homes with solar panels and batteries.