Submission on the Climate Change Commission's draft emissions budget advice and review of international shipping and aviation emissions

^{Auckland to Wellington flight. Photo: Sue, Flickr}

The Commissioner has made a submission on He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission's Draft advice on Aotearoa New Zealand’s fourth emissions budget and the discussion document on inclusion of emissions from international shipping and aviation in the 2050 target.

He agrees with the Commission that there is a need to ensure gross, and not just net, emissions reductions are on track to meet New Zealand’s long-term climate ambitions.

If action to reduce gross emissions is not taken, New Zealanders face three unpalatable outcomes:

• we will run belatedly into the need for rapid, costly and disruptive emissions reductions
• we will surrender future land use options for ever-increasing areas of land that must be converted and maintained as permanent carbon forestry
• we will fail to meet promised budgets and targets if foresters choose to exit the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme or the emissions trading scheme runs out of incentives.

The Commissioner also supports the Climate Change Commission’s suggestion that international shipping and aviation emissions be included as two new separate components in the 2050 target.

Inclusion of these emissions in domestic targets would encourage policy work in this area, and a move away from aspirational language towards more practical solutions.