About
A clean and healthy environment sits alongside economic growth as the key to an improved quality of life for all New Zealanders. The New Zealand Government’s approach to environmental policy is based on making collaborative practices possible in various fields of environmental endeavour, both nationally and internationally.
New Zealand plans to reduce the risks of climate change by:
- constraining its greenhouse gas emissions
- encouraging renewable energy
- improving energy efficiency
- investing in research and technology
- actively contributing to international negotiations.
Central government policies on climate change are designed to encourage movement towards carbon emission reductions through a variety of different mechanisms, including for some areas using fiscal measures or voluntary approaches.
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Strategy
A number of major policies and strategies form the foundation of the New Zealand Government’s response to climate change, ranging from energy and waste to transport and industry. Two flagship strategies are:
- The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme which covers all six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol and all industrial sectors
- The New Zealand Energy Strategy which sets out the Government’s vision of a reliable and resilient energy system delivering to New Zealand low-emissions energy services.
The Government has also set a target of reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by 2050.
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