New Zealand passes landmark law to reach zero emissions by 2050
Environment — di Valentina Neri
“We are on the right side of history.” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern comments on the landmark climate law passed by a sweeping majority.
New Zealand passes landmark law to reach zero emissions by 2050
“We are on the right side of history.” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern comments on the landmark climate law passed by a sweeping majority.
On 7 November, the parliament of New Zealand passed the ambitious climate change law championed by Jacinda Ardern's government. The country thereby commits to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and to honouring the commitments made under the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
What New Zealand's climate change law entails
New Zealand is thus standing on "the right side of history", Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared in parliament. "I firmly believe that climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. It is undeniable that sea levels are rising, it is undeniable that we are witnessing extreme weather events with ever greater frequency. It is science that tells us about the future impacts on flora and fauna, but also the spread of diseases in areas where they have never occurred before."
In brief, the text provides for the reduction of all net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The only exception is biogenic methane — that is, methane released by the decomposition of organic matter. In this case, a cut of between 24 and 47 per cent by 2050 has been mandated, and an interim target of -10 per cent relative to 2017 levels is also set for 2030. As the New Zealand Herald notes, an independent commission will be established to advise the government on the most effective adaptation and mitigation policies. The body will also produce a kind of emissions budget setting the allowable emissions for each five-year period.
"In the past we have led the world on nuclear disarmament and women's suffrage, and now we are doing so again," commented Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
Broad bipartisan support for a landmark law
The law passed almost unanimously, with 119 votes in favour and just one against. Formally, this near-plebiscite was not even necessary, as the governing coalition formed by Labour and the nationalist and populist New Zealand First party, backed by the Greens, already had the numbers to secure a majority. To prevent climate from becoming a battleground for political conflict, however, Minister James Shaw had worked hard to also secure the support of the conservative New Zealand National Party. That support ultimately came, despite all the amendments put forward by that political grouping having been rejected. The only person to remain opposed to the end was David Seymour, the sole elected member of the liberal and free-market party Act New Zealand.