Jobs to housing: The big news from Govt’s carbon plan
New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) is out – revealing how the Government plans to meet the first emissions budget of 72.4 million tonnes a year.
That means shaving 11.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent off our emissions from 2022-2025.
The policies will be backed by
$2.9 billion from the proceeds of selling carbon credits to polluters under the Emissions Trading Scheme over the next four years. Some – like continuing the clean car discount – are continuations of existing policies. Others – like a ‘‘cashfor-old dunger’’ car scrapping scheme for low earners – are new.
The Government is billing the major reform package as a chance to improve economic prosperity, lower the cost of living, restore nature, address inequality and improve living standards.
We have studied the plan to highlight top new announcements in every sector.
Housing
Stronger insulation standards so new buildings will take 40 per cent less energy to heat.
What’s not in there: Significant new policies for retro-fitting old buildings.
Energy
Half of all energy is slated to be from renewable resources by 2035. Crucially, this target is for all energy including that powering super-hot industrial boilers and other fossil-fuelled manufacturing processes. Previously, the Government had announced a target for electricity only, which in New Zealand is already mostly renewable.
There will be $650 million in the Budget to subsidise businesses to buy more energy-efficient manufacturing equipment and switch from fossil-fuelled to low-emissions technology for their heating, boilers and dryers. There are also moves to pave the way for offshore wind farms to get planning approval. What’s not in there: The Climate Change Commission had recommended setting an end-date for connecting new houses to the gas network. Energy Minister Megan Woods says the ‘‘softening’’ was because the pipelines might be used to carry renewable gas instead. A national energy strategy is still a work in progress.
Composting and rubbish
Most households will get access to kerbside food waste collection by 2030.
City landfills need to capture their methane emissions by 2026.
Transport
In a nod to fuel prices and rising cost-ofliving pain, $569m has been earmarked to trial a vehicle scrap-and-replace scheme (that is, cash for old dungers) to help lowincome households afford cleaner cars that are cheaper to run. There will be a higher threshold (as yet unspecified) for building new highways, if it will encourage people to drive.
Freight emissions will be cut by 35% by 2035 by deploying biofuels, hydrogen, zero-carbon trucks and zero-emissions shipping. 30% of cars, vans and utes are to be fully electric by 2035 (a policy floated in the Government’s discussion document last year). New public buses will have zero emissions by 2025.
People will travel 20 per cent less by car by 2035 and instead travel more by public transport, cycling and walking.
There is $350m in the Budget to help shift people from high-emitting to lowemitting travel modes, including paying for at least 100km of safe cycleways, walkable neighbourhood upgrades and bus shelters.
What’s not in there: A date for congestion pricing in our biggest cities. An end-date for importing fossil-fuelled cars is also absent.
Forests
The Government has allocated $73m towards planting 10,000 hectares of new trees to boost production of wood biomass, to replace coal in boilers.
It is putting money into scaling up production of native seedlings, and has set aside $145m for other forest planting and $111m for improving carbon stored in natural ecosystems.
What’s not in there: Concrete measures to reduce new planting of permanent pine trees relative to native forest. (The Government has said a decision on damping demand for permanent pine plantations will be made by the end of this year.)
Farming
Increasing research and development to 2% of GDP (gross domestic product) by 2030 will put more money into research (across all research, not only farming emissions). There is a $339m top-up for research into new emissions-cutting technology for farms, like methanequashing food additives and lowemissions fertilisers. A new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions will roll out emissions reduction tools to farmers and help them measure emissions. Pilot farm-level accounting and emissions reporting is due by 2023. Tikanga-based agriculture programmes to support Māori farming form part of broader moves towards a tailored transition for Māori.
Jobs
Targeted investment into making forestry and wood processing ‘‘higher value and higher wage’’ signals a push towards a more tree-based income for the country. There is $61m for skilled bus drivers and the Jobs for Nature scheme looks set to continue.
Māori
A Māori climate strategy and action plan is being developed with Māori. Specialist support for marae, Māori business and other groups are also in development.