Commentary on Govt response to CCC emissions monitoring report

^{Sheep and pine plantation forestry. Greg Briner, PCE.}

The Environment committee asked the Commissioner to provide an independent perspective on the Government's response to the Climate Change Commission's emissions reduction monitoring report for 2024.  He notes that as it contained a few broad policy statements with little detail or supporting evidence, there was little in the document to analyse. As a consequence, the Commissioner's advice has been formulated as questions that the Environment Committee could ask the Minister of Climate Change and officials for further information. These questions include:

• What plans does the Government have to strengthen and tighten the design and settings of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS)?
• Is the Government's goal to limit forest offsetting or to keep the NZ ETS price low? 
• What regulatory barriers and market failures has the Government identified that are preventing emissions reductions and how will it address them?
• How has the Government considered costs over time to determine whether or not its proposed approach is indeed 'least cost'?
• How does the Government intend to mitigate the risks inherent in its proposed approach?

The Commissioner also drew the Committee’s attention to the risk that the Government might miss its climate change targets and referred the Committee to his submission on the draft second emissions reduction plan.