Adrian Bathgate, Reuters 10 Aug 09;
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand set itself a goal on Monday to cut carbon emissions by between 10 and 20 percent by 2020, holding off setting a hard target until a broader global climate pact now under negotiation takes shape.
Business groups said it was a sensible range -- broadly in line with major emitters like Japan and the United States, as well as neighboring Australia -- but environmentalists said it was not tough enough to tackle climate change.
While New Zealand's emissions comprise less than 0.5 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas pollution, it is one of fewer than 40 rich nations bound by the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol to curb emissions and thus has an important role in helping shape the debate of a post-Kyoto deal due to be agreed at year's end in Copenhagen.
"This target is internationally credible and both environmentally and economically responsible," Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said in a statement.
"It is an ambitious but achievable goal," he said, adding the target would be achieved through domestic emission reductions, the storage of carbon in forests and the purchase of emission reductions from other countries.
New Zealand is also being closely watched since it is one of a handful of nations outside Europe trying to develop a national emissions trading scheme, a key measure in meeting its target and something it hopes to have in place by the end of this year.
A parliamentary committee that has been reviewing a package of laws on the proposed trading scheme is expected to release its report within a few weeks. A similar set of bills in Australia, which has said it could cut emissions by as much as 25 percent, has been stalled by political opposition.
"USEFUL FIRST STEP"
New Zealand faces a trickier task than most, with emissions already far above its current U.N. target and because about half of its greenhouse gas pollution comes from agriculture, which in turn provides about half its $29 billion in annual export earnings.
Emissions increased 24 percent from 1990 to 2008. Under Kyoto, its greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to show no increase from 1990 levels during the 2008-12 Kyoto period.
Smith made no mention of any concessions for agriculture, which is responsible for large amounts of methane emissions. Methane is about 20 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Poorer states want rich nations to agree to 2020 emissions cuts of 25-40 percent below 1990 levels. But most rich nations say this range is too tough to meet.
"The 2020 emissions targets announced today represented a useful first step in the current international negotiations for a post-2012 climate change agreement," said Jonathan Boston, director of the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.
But he said New Zealand and many other developed countries would need take responsibility for reductions in emissions by 2020 of more than 20 percent to try to avoid the worst of the impacts from global warming.
"It is to be hoped that the 10-20 percent target range is not the government's final position."
Greenpeace said the 10-20 percent range would mean New Zealand was not a constructive player at the Copenhagen meeting.
However, lobby group Business NZ said the target was a sensible balance, given New Zealand's unique status as a developed but agriculture-reliant economy.
($1 = NZ$1.49)
(Editing by David Fogarty)
FACTBOX: New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions profile
Adrian Bathgate, Reuters 10 Aug 09;
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Monday it will aim to cut its carbon emissions between 10 and 20 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels.
The exact size of reductions will depend on the target adopted by developed countries during negotiations on a broader global climate pact due to be finalized in the Danish capital later this year.
New Zealand's total emissions increased by 24 percent from 1990 to 2008, which the government had previously said would make setting a target difficult.
NEW ZEALAND EMISSIONS BREAKDOWN AS AT 2006
AGRICULTURE - 48 PERCENT: Primarily methane emissions from cattle and sheep, which number about 10 million and 33 million respectively. New Zealand is unique among developed countries for having such a high proportion of emissions from agriculture, with the average for developed countries about 12 percent.
ENERGY - 44 PERCENT: Mainly transport (19 percent) and electricity generation (11 percent) and manufacturing (7 percent). Transport is mostly made up from burning fuel for cars and trucks while electricity generation is from power stations fueled mostly by gas and coal.
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES - 5 PERCENT: The bulk of this comes from the production of iron, steel and aluminum.
WASTE - 2 PERCENT
RENEWABLES: The country relies on hydro, geothermal and wind power to supply more than 60 percent of the nation's electricity.
Sources: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, New Zealand government
(Editing by David Fogarty)
New Zealand sets greenhouse gas reduction at 10-20 pct
Yahoo News 10 Aug 09;
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand has set a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by between 10 and 20 percent from 1990 levels, the government announced Monday, according to press reports.
The target, which falls short of demands by environmentalists, would be met by reducing domestic emissions, expanding forests and buying emission reductions from other nations.
Prime Minister John Key said the country had a long way to go if it was to fulfill the pledge.
"It seeks to balance our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibility," he said, in comments reported by the New Zealand Press Association.
"The target is going to be a big ask for New Zealand because our gross emissions are already 24 per cent above our 1990 levels," Key said.
The announcement forms part of Wellington's bargaining position in talks scheduled for the end of the year in Copenhagen, when nations will meet to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto protocol.
New Zealand will cut its emissions by 10 percent if other developed nations sign a comprehensive treaty and by 20 percent if developing countries also get on board.
Environmental group Greenpeace has been campaigning for New Zealand to slash its emissions by 40 percent, but Key rejected this call, saying the economic and social cost would be unacceptable.
Business groups had urged the government to set a target below 10 percent, while opposition parties said the announcement did not go far enough.
Green Party MP Jeanette Fitzsimons said more needed to be done before the year-end international meeting.
"Our opening bid is too low. Hopefully, New Zealanders will convince the government to up its game as the negotiations progress towards Copenhagen. This debate has only just begun, and it's time we had a real conversation about what is possible," she said.
