Govt’s Draft Emissions Reduction Plan Balances Climate Goals and Economic Growth

“This draft Emissions Reduction Plan shows that with effective climate change policies we can both grow the economy and deliver our climate change commitments," stated Minister Watts.

The Government’s draft Emissions Reduction Plan shows we can stay within the limits of the first two emissions budgets while growing the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.

“This draft Emissions Reduction Plan shows that with effective climate change policies we can both grow the economy and deliver our climate change commitments," stated Minister Watts.

“Our plan focuses on transitioning to a low-emission economy by leveraging the abundance of opportunities New Zealand has, including our unique landscape and resources.”

Reducing net emissions is one of the nine Government targets for achieving better results from the public service.

“This is the first opportunity to consult with New Zealanders on our plan to get the country on track for net zero emissions by 2050,” Mr. Watts says. “Earlier this month, the Government released our climate strategy. The Emissions Reduction Plan centers around the five core pillars of that strategy.”

Some key policies include:

Doubling renewable energy by reducing the consenting burden through Electrify NZ

Targeting 10,000 public EV chargers by 2030

Lowering agricultural emissions by giving farmers the tools to reduce emissions

Investing in resource recovery through the Waste Minimisation Fund

Investigating carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)

“The consultation also covers how the Government intends to strengthen the NZ Emission Trading Scheme to support achieving our climate change targets, and other complementary policies,” Mr. Watts says.

“Changes made to actions or activities in the first Emissions Reduction Plan are also covered by the consultation. Projections show that we remain on track to meeting the first Emissions Budget; however, we want to seek public feedback on the impact of the change in approach.

“The final Emissions Reduction Plan for the period 2026-2030 will be finalized by the end of this year after considering public feedback and advice from the Climate Change Commission,” concluded Mr. Watts.