Brian S Roper's Blog: Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Change Policy Documents

As the Green Party of Aotearoa updates the policies on its website (https://www.greens.org.nz/), it deletes the previous version of the policy. This can make it difficult to trace shifts in its policies over time. I have struggled to find a publicly available internet archive and so have deposited some of its key policy change and related documents here covering the period from 2009 to 2022. Where possible this will include active links but where there are none I've simply provided the text below. This is a work in progress. There will be further additions and editing over time.

Update: March 7, 2023. I have added related policy documents in other areas (e.g. economic policy, sustainable business policy) at the end of this archival blog. I have also added the New Zealand Labour Party, Manifesto 2017 - Climate Change at the bottom of this blog.

2009
Green New Deal: The Green Stimulus Package

Media commentary on release:

1. Introduction
What is the Green New Deal?
America was in deep economic trouble in 1933 with closed banks, high unemployment, falling commodity prices and worse on the way. President Roosevelt responded with the “New Deal”. It was a new social contract between the Government and the people, and a programme designed to give relief to the unemployed, reform business and financial practices, and promote economic recovery.

The New Deal is best remembered for its major spending by the Government. Capital works and infrastructure programmes were designed to provide work, stimulate economic activity and provide a socially fair basis for the future economy. Other measures reformed banking and finance regulations, supported trade unions, provided for social welfare programmes, stimulated education and creative endeavours, and supported many individual industries. Confronted with a myriad of interlinked
problems, President Roosevelt embarked on an integrated programme of activity that aimed to address them all more or less simultaneously.

New Zealand in 2009 faces a broadly similar situation. The developed world is in the grip of a financial crisis, brought on by the collapse of the speculative economy. Asset bubbles have burst and left debt levels hugely out of kilter with the real value of assets and the supply of credit has dried up as a result. The underlying assumptions of the banking and financial sectors have been proved wrong, and ordinary people are paying the price as sales and then jobs fall as a consequence.

But New Zealand (and the world) also faces crises in the way we interact with our natural environment and in the energy that we use. At the most urgent level, we face the imminent prospect of climate change. Unless we undertake an urgent and major reduction in our net emission of greenhouse gases, we face unstoppable catastrophic effects. These are hard to predict precisely but, for example, New Scientist recently speculated on the likely consequences of a 4 degree rise in global temperatures (which is expected this century on current trends) and suggested these will include leaving most of the earth’s
landmass uninhabitable. It will either become desert or suffer from extreme flooding and other weather events, with remaining land (including New Zealand) needed for intensive food production and human habitation. Other environmental problems at or approaching critical level are freshwater availability and pollution, the state of the world’s oceans, fisheries depletion and shortages in food supply.

The other massive challenge facing us in the foreseeable future is the end of cheap oil. Even the oil companies now concede that ‘peak oil’, at least for conventional oil, is imminent. Our consumption of oil is much greater than the discovery of new supply. This resource, that we use for virtually all transportation, and other uses from plastics to food production, will rapidly
become much more expensive, causing us to rethink many of the ways we currently live.
What is different from the Roosevelt era of the 1930s is that the environmental crisis is directly contributing to the economic crisis. We are hitting the ecological limits of oil availability, climate, freshwater and the productivity of the oceans, and unless we address those issues the economic crisis will not go away.

The Green Party says that New Zealand needs to approach these inter-linked crises in an integrated way just as Roosevelt did in the US in the 1930s. This means that when we create infrastructure, we need to make sure that the future economy will be sustainable, that it minimises climate change, and that it doesn’t count on a plentiful supply of cheap oil. The jobs that are created and the economic activity stimulated need to build in this direction and to promote social justice.

The Green Party is working on a programme of legislative, environmental, economic and social actions that could respond to the multiple challenges that we face at the same time. It would also redefine the relationships between Government, people and environment. We hope, together with interested New Zealanders, we can persuade the Government to adopt these measures, in the interests of all Kiwis, both now and in the future. We’re also ready to work across Party lines to support a Green New Deal-type programme.

What about the proposed stimulus package?
The measures suggested in this stimulus package are a first bite at the Green New Deal apple. They represent a range of measures totalling $3.3 billion over 3 years, along with a shift in the direction of committed transport funding. This is about 0.5% of GDP and small compared with the stimulus packages of other countries. The measures are balanced between urban and rural areas, are “shovel-ready”, and will move New Zealand towards the sustainable economy that future generations need. In contrast, the solutions proposed by National and Labour will, for the most part continue the kinds of economic
activity that will simultaneously move the country away from sustainability and stoke the fires of the next great financial collapse.

That’s not to say the Green Party is against all of the Government’s stimulus actions. Indeed we’ve supported the small and medium sized enterprise relief measures, for example, but pointed out that there are other steps that Government could have taken. We have also offered our enthusiastic support for the national cycle network, which has been longstanding Green Party policy. We also acknowledge that the Government has expressed its intention to fund a home insulationprogramme.

There are many aspects of the Green New Deal that are not included in this limited stimulus package; this is just what we would do right now. While the Government’s “rolling maul” of measures seems to have collapsed, the Green Party will continue to develop and announce policy to add to the Green New Deal.

Benefits
Our conservative calculations are that this package would save or create almost 18,000 jobs (FTE for 1 year) directly and almost 43,000 in all. These calculations exclude the 40% extra jobs from investing in transport efficiency instead of motorways. Other benefits are indicated here, but we have not included the very substantial saving on unemployment benefit – almost half a billion dollars in relation to 42,602 jobs.

2. Executive Summary of the Green Stimulus Package
This package of measures would first and foremost provide new jobs (or help retain existing ones) and stimulate the economy in a helpful way, while starting to meaningfully address some of the pressing environmental problems that we face, including climate change, and reducing social inequalities. It exemplifies classic ‘green thinking’ in that it provides win-win
solutions.

This package includes measures in:
• Energy Efficiency
• Transport Efficiency
• Waterways Protection
• State Housing
• Community Sector Initiatives

Where possible we have costed measures and indicated their likely benefits for jobs and the economy, as well as their contribution to the environment and to social goals, including the reduction of inequalities. In other areas this degree of analysis is not yet possible, but we have indicated directions for future immediate further analysis and investigation.

Except where otherwise stated, the projects set out in this Green Stimulus Package are ready for immediate implementation.

-----------------------------End of Opening Section------------------------

2011

Climate Change Policy – Kicking the Carbon Habit

Updated: 2011 Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett Street, Wellington 2

Vision

The Green Party envisions a world where all people live in harmony with the environment and where natural ecosystems flourish. Collectively we understand the dangers of man-made emissions that destabilise the world's climate and we co-operate at local, national and international levels to control our greenhouse gas emissions so that they do not negatively impact on global weather patterns, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary hardship.

Introduction

"Our central survival task for the decades ahead, as individuals and as a species, must be to make a transition away from the use of fossil fuels - and to do this as peacefully, equitably, and intelligently as possible." (Heinberg 2007)

International scientific consensus is that our climate is changing. As a result of human activities, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, such as methane, are now higher than they have ever been in the last 650,000 years. These gasses trap the heat from the sun, and our planet is becoming warmer, which is causing our climate to change.

Some of the currently observable effects of global warming and climate change include:

• Arctic Sea ice disappearing at a much faster rate than predicted by scientific models and glaciers in retreat in most parts of the world.

• Melting of permafrost in the tundra in Siberia and northern Canada, releasing the methane currently trapped in these frozen swamps.

• Increasing numbers and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms with devastating consequences for local populations.

• Accelerated sea level rise, threatening low-lying islands in the South Pacific who have had to develop evacuation plans.

The impact of this human induced climate change disproportionately affects the world's poorest and most vulnerable people. The World Health Organisation estimates that already each year 150,000 people are dying as a direct result of climate change. Food production is also adversely affected as many crop plants in the tropics are already at their physiological limits.

Many scientists are saying that climate change represents the greatest threat to environmental, social and economic wellbeing that humans have ever faced. A rise of in global temperatures of 2 degrees is predicted to result in a loss of global biodiversity of around 25%.

New Zealand is not immune to the effects of climate change and already has to deal with increased severe weather events such as extreme floods and storms and more frequent droughts. These trends will get worse. Sea level rise threatens our largely coastal settlements and infrastructure, and new pests and diseases will become established.

As well as the huge social and environmental costs of climate change, the economic cost of inaction are extremely high. The Stern report (2006) showed that an investment of 1-2% percent of global GDP is required to mitigate the effects of climate change, while failure to do so risks costs of up to 20% Global GDP by 2100.

All of this means that we must drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as we can. The Green Party supports the general scientific consensus that any human induced warming beyond two degrees is likely to lead to tipping points and irrevocable change, which are unacceptable both for humanity and the environment. We take our lead from the latest science, which suggests that this will require a 90% reduction from 1990 levels in developed countries' GHG emissions by 2050.

The Green Party's Energy and Transport policies contain the details of many practical climate change actions.

Note: Please also see our Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Conservation, Taxation and Monetary, Environment, Housing, Waste, and Water policies for further detailed policy points that are relevant to climate change

Background Information

The national and international context for climate change policy has been changing over recent years. In 2009 we challenged the Government's unambitious emission reduction goal. We released 'Getting There' a comprehensive plan for reducing our emissions in an affordable way. The National-led Government has turned the Emissions Trading Scheme into a massive subsidy scheme that incentivises big polluters instead of making polluters pay. The Greens have also released several papers which set out complementary measures New Zealand can take to ensure we do our fair share of emission reductions.

Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett Street, Wellington 3

Definitions

• Kyoto Forest - Forests planted since January 1, 1990 on non-forested land.

• PFSI - Permanent Forest Sink Initiative; forests (other than pine) planted since January 1, 1990 and not intended for clear felling that meet specific criteria for management and are therefore eligible for carbon credits under 2006 legislation.

• Plantation forests - forests that are planted for production purposes.

• Kyoto Units - Under the Kyoto Agreement, credits have to be held or purchased for each tonne of carbon emitted into the atmosphere. Such units come in various forms: AAU, CER, RMU, ERU. They are from here on called "Kyoto units".

• KP1 - Kyoto Period #1 (1 January 2008 - 31 Dec 2012), the first time period to which the mandatory targets of the Kyoto protocol apply.

• KP2 - Kyoto Period #2 (probably 1 January 2013 - 31 Dec 2020), the second time period to which any mandatory targets of Kyoto's successor will apply.

• Sustainable - an activity that can keep going indefinitely without depleting resources or accumulating wastes.

• Carbon Neutrality -zero net carbon release, brought about by balancing the amount of carbon released with the amount sequestered or offset.

• Carbon Offset - the purchasing of carbon reductions deemed to be equivalent to the carbon emitted.

• PoO - Point of Obligation. The point in the economy where the obligation to meet ETS requirements is placed. For example, in the liquid fuels sector, the major oil companies are the most likely to be 'obliged' persons, with the point being the same places where excise taxes are collected.

• CDM - Clean Development Mechanism, an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1 countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.

Key Principles

The Green Party believes that:

1. Climate change policy should be guided by the science with the interests of the global community and environment ahead of the goal of economic growth

2. We must think long term and start early because of the lag time in climate effects.

3. We need to act quickly if we are to successfully limit global warming to 2 degrees C and prevent runaway climate change.

4. Total global emissions must be reduced quickly and converge to emission quotas that are based on equal per capita entitlements. (A process known as contraction and convergence)

5. In order to achieve the necessary permanent reductions in greenhouse emissions all countries must be part of a binding international agreement

Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett Street, Wellington 4

that sets regular targets for emissions and monitors compliance with them.

6. Those countries with the highest per capita emissions must do the most to reduce their emissions.

7. Those sectors with the ability to reduce their emissions or to switch to non-emitting activities must do so as quickly as possible.

8. All sectors of the economy should cover the overall cost to the taxpayer of their emissions and do this in a fair and equitable manner, with no free riders.

9. The Government must use any income from a price on carbon, both to assist the transition to a low carbon economy and to protect low income and other vulnerable sectors of society from the effects of the resulting increases in energy and fuel prices.

10.Real local emission reductions should always be prioritized over offsets.

11.To manage climate change emissions we require complementary price and regulatory mechanisms as well as individual and community action.

12.Efforts to reduce domestic emissions must not be at the expense of other environmental values such as biodiversity.

13.Government must invest in research and development into the production methods and mitigation technologies to enable a successful emissions reduction programme (especially in energy production, forestry, and agriculture)

14.As some warming is inevitable, adaptation must go hand in hand with mitigation efforts.

Policy Points

1. Targets and Agreements

A. Domestic

The Green Party will:

1. Support a 90% reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. This target will include at least 60% domestic reductions, with the balance obtained from purchasing validated, real reductions from overseas.

2. Support an interim target of 30% domestic reductions and 10% offsets by 2020 to ensure that New Zealand remains on track. Early reductions have a greater net benefit to the environment.

3. Review New Zealand's progress towards these national targets and technology incentives every two years in order to keep up with the latest ethical developments in science and technology.

B. International

1. Work with all countries to negotiate a much stronger binding agreement for post-2012, which must involve all nations accepting obligations on per capita entitlements and reducing total emissions quickly.

2. Make every effort to persuade the US to join an international carbon emissions reduction agreement.

3. Support the development of an international oil depletion protocol, to assist countries to achieve domestic targets and guarantee equitable access to the world's remaining oil and other fossil fuel reserves.

4. Negotiate internationally to have the carbon sequestered in timber products recognised and deducted from deforestation liabilities in order to encourage timber in construction.

5. Ensure that all our international trade agreements uphold the principles of Kyoto.

6. Support international action for the immediate protection of the world's remaining indigenous forests.

2. Reducing our Emissions.

About half of New Zealand's emissions come from farming (from methane and nitrous oxide) and half from the energy and transport sector (from burning fossil fuels). All sectors whose activities contribute to climate change should face the price of carbon to some extent.

A. Supporting Research and Development

Research and development into emissions reductions in agricultural production, land use and forestry is potentially the most effective contribution to the science of climate change and adaptation, so strong ethical leadership in this area is critical. The Green Party will:

1. Accelerate research into mitigating agriculture's GHG emissions.

2. Support more research into organic and other transitional forms of sustainable agricultural production in New Zealand that have better soil-carbon management, less intensive ruminant livestock management, and other methods of reducing carbon emissions from agriculture.

3. Expand research into soil sequestration of carbon to include both biochar and ways of counting the benefits of organic soil management systems with high biological activity .

4. Support and fund research & development of benefit to the forestry industry, including:

i. Funding research and development of projects to use of wood waste as an energy source

ii. Developing and promoting wood as an alternative to energy intensive building products, such as steel and concrete, both of which create high levels of emissions in their manufacture.

iii. Funding research and development into converting lignin and cellulose from wood into fuels, chemical feedstock and other products to replace oil and coal derived materials

B. Energy

The Green Party will ensure that all energy is used much more efficiently. We will phase out fossil fuels and develop new renewables, as energy from renewables can provide all our power needs. We also believe that the best way to reduce emissions from mining and burning coal is to leave the coal in the ground, regardless of who it is exported to and will support a transition to phasing out coal mines.For our policies on hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass and marine energy please see our Energy Policy.The Green Party will:

1. Fully fund the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, then find and fund the delivery of all energy efficiency measures that are more cost-effective than new supply, including environmental costs.

2. Reinstate a strengthened renewable preference clause in the Climate Change Act.

3. Phase out fossil fuels, starting with coal which is the worst. No new coal mines will be consented.

4. Allow existing mines to run their course, so that coal mining phases out at the rate of workforce attrition, with the emphasis on thermal coal for power stations going first, and coking coal for steel-making later.

5. Not support any conversion of coal to liquid fuels.

6. Not support any investment in the technology of carbon capture and storage, though if it is successfully developed, we will encourage its use for process emissions in industries which cannot avoid them, such as cement and steel.

7. Design a mechanism to discourage export of coal when it is exported to a non Kyoto country during KP1, as export coal is outside the ETS.

C. Transport

New Zealand's heavy reliance on the car mean that transport is one area where significant emissions reductions can and should occur. The Green Party will:

1. Adopt urgent measures to improve vehicle efficiency, setting an average fuel efficiency standard for all new light vehicles entering the country to ensure NZ to catches up with the European Standard by 2020.

2. Raise the standard for used vehicles entering the fleet so that by 2020 used vehicles will need to average the standard set in 2016 for new vehicles.

3. Reduce vehicle kilometres travelled by supporting cycling, walking, affordable and efficient public transport, car-pooling, video conferencing and better urban planning.

4. Reject the use of biofuels which are made from, or compete with, food production; use genetically modified organisms in their production, or are produced by clearing biodiversity such as old growth forests. Instead, support the development of sustainable, locally produced biofuels from waste products and other sustainable sources as these provide substantial carbon reduction compared with petroleum fuels.

5. Shift funding from new roading, especially urban motorways, into the redevelopment of our rail and coastal shipping infrastructure, and to provide increased funding for public transport, including electric rail, so that users find the system efficient, sufficient, and a low cost way to travel.

Our Transport Policy contains a detailed plan of action.

D. Agriculture and Forestry

New Zealand has a unique emissions profile compared to other OECD countries because agriculture produces about half of our climate changing emissions. Contrary to what is often claimed, agriculture has options for reducing emissions, in ways that are sustainable, many of which are cost effective for farmers. The simplest option is for farming to de-intensify and diversify into a range of land uses. Dairying is a significant contributor to our national emissions. The Green Party believes that further conversion of agricultural land to intensive dairying needs to be limited and ways of reversing unsustainable dairy conversions should be explored. Farm forestry needs to become an integral part of farm operations. See our Agriculture and Forestry policies for more details.

The Green Party will:

1. Require agriculture to take responsibility for its nitrous oxide emissions, where they do have options, in 2013.

2. Support the introduction of emissions reduction practices and technologies for agriculture that have been shown to be appropriate, safe and not harmful to animal welfare, such as; lower stocking rates, temporary stand-off pads during wet months, herd homes, improved drainage ( excluding wetland areas) , GMO free biodigesters, soil carbon management, sustainably produced supplementary feeds, biochar and other measures

3. Concurrently promote and provide incentives for farmers to adopt measures that re-establish the sustainable nature of agriculture such as farm forestry, mixed farming, use of complex mixed swards, and organic production.

4. Encourage councils to require land use resource consents for conversion to dairying

5. Expand the Permanent Forest Sinks Initiative PFSI to value soil, water and wildlife benefits as well as carbon storage.

6. Invest in better management of the carbon stores on conservation land.

7. Promote and encourage longer rotation plantation species as an alternative to Pinus radiata.

8. Ensure that the Crown covers the full cost to the taxpayer of deforestation for this current harvest cycle of pre-1990 forests on any Crown land with crown owned forestry leases that has been returned to Maori as a Treaty settlement.

9. Move as quickly as possible to develop a National Policy Standard on biodiversity in order to protect biodiversity in regenerating forest and promote diversification in afforestation.

3. Carbon Markets

The Green Party believes that putting a price on greenhouse gases is desirable to reduce emissions, as well as to incentivise energy efficiency and renewables.

Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett Street, Wellington 8

Our strong first preference is for a carbon charge, recycled into income tax reduction for all taxpayers, and into funding carbon abatement. However there is currently little chance of this happening in NZ, so we will work to improve the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) put forward by successive Governments. [Emphasis added – BR].

In this context, the Green Party will:

1. Require consistent emission reporting standards (input methods) for the voluntary market

2. Support legitimate voluntary carbon markets to an international standard, not a domestic hybrid.

3. Support market mechanisms that seek primarily to create genuine emission reductions rather than just profits. The Green Party will reform the ETS in the following ways:

4. Set a domestic cap on emissions, which will require some of the reduction to take place within NZ. This will be done by limiting the quantity of overseas credits purchased as a proportion of the credits that must be surrendered.

5. Link our ETS to overseas carbon markets such as the EU, where they are soundly based, to boost market confidence and liquidity.

6. Ensure that the taxpayer's liability in 2012 is covered by emitters as quickly as possible.

4. Adaptation

Adaptation to climate change will be essential as many significant changes to our climate are already happening. While central government action is key to our international engagement and overall policy development, the Green Party recognizes that local government will be the key partner in actually delivering on any adaptation strategies.

A. Social Adaptation

The Green Party will assist low income and vulnerable sectors of society to adjust to the resulting changes in the economy by:

1. Making appropriate adjustments to the tax system

2. Indexing benefits and the minimum wage to the costs of food, housing, electricity and transport fuels (ensuring that benefits and minimum wage are indexed to a CPI which reflects the costs of basics such as food, housing, electricity and transport fuels)

3. Improving energy efficiency and affordability for low-income households through the home insulation fund that the Green Party has negotiated with the Government. It addition we will promote progressive pricing, clean and efficient heating devices and other measures to save on energy use as detailed in our energy policy.

4. Providing a rebate on the cost of a home energy audit, when participating in a government sponsored energy efficiency scheme, on the proviso that the recommendations of the audit are implemented.

Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett Street, Wellington 9

5. Developing a programme that ensures that every home in NZ meets minimum energy performance targets through insulation and energy efficiency retrofits by 2020.

6. Running public education programs to educate the public on ways of saving energy and reducing emissions.

7. Ensuring the long-term security and affordability of the food supply in response to changing climatic conditions and growing seasons. See our Food Policy

8. Ensuring economic and social equity are key goals of wages, welfare, housing, transport and health policies.

9. Expanding transport options and enabling greater use of walking, cycling, buses and trains to get around.

10.Working proactively with Pacific nations to help with mitigation and adaptation, potentially integrating them into our voluntary ETS and carbon markets as well as assisting them in providing credible and verifiable reductions via the CDM.

11.Developing a National Policy Statement under the RMA on sustainable urban form that is transit- cycle- and walking-oriented, not car oriented

12.Supporting community economic development, transition town and other initiatives aimed at reforming local economies towards a low carbon and less fossil fuel dependent future.

13.Encouraging urban, provincial and rural housing design and developments which promote transport modes and living arrangements which will meet both human and environmental needs in a future affected by the impacts of climate change and peak oil.

14.Require regional, unitary and territorial local authorities to incorporate climate change into their planning processes and implementation, prioritising coastal areas.

B. Environmental Adaptation

Climate changes threaten the survival of many species and ecosystems.The Green Party will:

1. Fund research to identify the most at risk species and ecosystems in New Zealand

2. Research the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, both on land and at sea.

3. Support mechanisms, such as the protection and restoration of ecological corridors, to maintain and enhance the ability of indigenous species to respond or adapt to climate change.

4. Research the impacts of climate change on primary production such as rainfall, pest and ocean acidification.

5. Provide guidance to local authorities to plan long-term adaptation to sea level rises.

6. Ensure that DoC and other Crown assets are managed in a manner that supports ecosystem and species adaptation.

7. Apply the precautionary principle and rigorous analysis to any plan to apply geo-engineering or other technologies to combat climate change.

C. Economic Adaptation

There are many sectors of society that will be affected economically as we move to a low carbon economy. Those who are most vulnerable must be assisted to adapt.The Green party will:

1. Create high-level government and industry sector groups to investigate and make recommendations on how to manage peak oil and climate change.

2. Selectively impose a carbon tax or other suitable instrument on energy intensive imports from countries whose industries do not face the price of carbon, in a manner consistent with that proposed by the EU. Such an initiative would be phased in during KP2.

3. Shift the economies of communities dependant on coal away from coal mining by requiring Solid Energy, a Crown Owned Enterprise, to fully rehabilitate all old mining areas, simultaneously wind down its coal mining operations and expand its wood pellet and other biomass fuel operations, and thus not provide further fuel for global warming.

4. Create a contestable fund for local government and community group adaptation projects.

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2014

Climate Change Policy

Updated: 01-Jun-2014

Spokesperson: James Shaw MP

Introduction

International scientific consensus is that our climate is changing. As a result of human activities, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, such as methane, are now higher than they have ever been in the last 650,000 years. These gases trap the heat from the sun, and our planet is becoming warmer, which is causing our climate to change.

New Zealand’s response has been woefully inadequate under previous governments, with excessive reliance on an economic instrument (the Emissions Trading Scheme) that has been progressively weakened. The Green Party will meet the challenges of economic transformation to a low emissions economy in a holistic way, recognising the important complementarity between emissions reductions and other policy aims.

These include healthy homes and liveable cities, clean and distributed electricity generation, affordable and safe mobility, green jobs and clean technology development, reduced consumption of resources, communities resilient to extreme weather, and pride in New Zealand’s responsible role internationally.

Successful climate change mitigation and adaptation will be achieved by the combined effect of multiple Green Party policies working in conjunction with this one. See our Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Conservation, Economics, Energy, Environment, Forestry, Health, Housing, and Transport policies.

Also see our website section on Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect for more information about climate change.

Definitions

Border Tax Adjustments: Import fees levied by emissions-taxing countries on goods manufactured in non-emissions-taxing countries.

Carbon Budget: The quantity of emissions that can occur within a certain timespan, usually expressed as gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent. For New Zealand this will represent our fair share of the annual global carbon budget, which is the maximum level of cumulative emissions that can be allowed without an unacceptable risk of breaching the threshold of two degrees Celsius average global temperature rise. To achieve that goal, the maximum allowable global emissions total from 2010 to 2050 is approximately 500Gt.

Carbon Sequestration: The process of transferring carbon from the atmosphere into biological or geological storage.

Contraction and Convergence: A strategy to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions (Contraction) with all countries moving towards equal emissions per capita (Convergence).

Emissions Levy: A set price that must be paid for emitting greenhouse gases and that serves to discourage such emissions.

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): A market-based approach whereby the quantity of emissions are set by the government or regulator (either as a cap or on an intensity basis) and the price of an emissions unit varies according to demand.

Greenhouse Gases: Gases shown to be warming the climate and which require intervention to control, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC); primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and halocarbons (such as CFCs and HCFCs).

Low Emissions Economy (also commonly referred to as a Low Carbon Economy): An economy that manages emissions to avoid adverse effects on the global climate.

Sustainable: An activity that can keep going indefinitely without depleting resources or accumulating wastes.

Vision

The Green Party envisions a world where all people live in harmony with the environment and where natural ecosystems flourish. Collectively we understand the dangers of human-made emissions that destabilise the world's climate and we cooperate at local, national and international levels to control our greenhouse gas emissions so that they do not negatively impact on global weather patterns, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary hardship.

Key Principles

The Green Party believes that:

1. We must act according to credible science on climate change, which demands urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, and sustained action to safely remove excess greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

2. Māori economic, environmental and cultural interests, as provided for in Article II of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, must be protected to ensure that the effects of climate change and our response to it do not disproportionally impact upon the tangata whenua.

3. We have an obligation to act for the sake of vulnerable people, the well being of current and future generations, the integrity of diverse ecosystems and the retention of a viable biosphere. We must think long term and start now because of the extensive lag time in climate effects.

4. A global agreement is crucial as a step towards concerted global action and we will play a constructive role in achieving a fair, effective, binding and ambitious agreement.

5. We must accept our responsibility to reduce emissions and we will advocate an approach of ‘contraction and convergence’ of emissions internationally, towards broadly equal shares of emissions per person.

6. Social equity and ecological sustainability must be inherent in the way we respond to climate change.

7. A range of instruments is needed to meet the requirements of climate change mitigation and adaptation. These include legislation and regulations, economic instruments and policies supporting public investment, community action, and voluntary initiatives by both business and organisations.

8. Pricing mechanisms will seek to ensure that polluting sectors will, within a short-time, pay for the environmental and societal costs of their emissions, with no free riders.

9. Pricing and other mechanisms will take into account New Zealand's international obligations and be designed so as to manage fiscal risk to the Crown in a responsible manner.

10.Greenhouse gases differ in their origin, chemical nature, climate changing effects, persistence and assimilation by natural systems. Management of emissions ideally should recognise these differences.

11.Adaptation measures should develop resilient economies and communities, and minimise the impacts of climate change on low income and vulnerable sectors of society.

12.Transparency, credibility and education are essential if all stakeholders are to accept the policy framework and change their behaviour as a result.

Policy Points

1. Targets and Agreements

A. Domestic

The Green Party will:

1. Establish a clear strategy, action plan and carbon budget for the transition to a net zero emissions, fossil-fuel free economy.

2. Support a 100% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels within New Zealand by 2050.

3. Review and if necessary revise the interim timeframe and target for achieving domestic reductions below 1990 levels, to ensure that New Zealand commits to deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a step towards achieving zero emissions as early as possible. Early reductions have a greater net benefit to the environment.

4. Review New Zealand's progress towards these national targets and technology incentives at least every two years in order to keep up with the latest developments in science and technology.

B. International

New Zealand's status as a developed "northern hemisphere" economy, as well as its status as a colonised "southern hemisphere" nation coping with indigenous issues, place it in a unique position to bridge the divide in international climate change negotiations. New Zealand must use this influence to press for an international agreement that aims to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations to a safe level of less than 350 parts per million as soon as possible.

The Green Party will:

1. Work with all countries to negotiate a binding agreement by the end of 2015, that involves all nations accepting obligations on per capita entitlements, and to curb and reduce total emissions within a timeframe that achieves a phase out of fossil fuels within the second half of this century, in accordance with a scientifically-sound carbon budgeting approach.

2. Ensure that the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibility, and ecological sustainability are reflected in the agreement, and that there are mechanisms to ensure compliance with commitments to emissions reductions.

3. Seek to accelerate the phase out of fossil fuels and fossil fuel subsidies as soon as possible, and support developing countries to move quickly to renewable energy and low impact transport.

4. Ensure that international agreements for forests and other forms of carbon sequestration have ecological integrity and sound accounting rules.

5. Ensure that all our international trade agreements allow countries to promote low emission economic policies and to discriminate against emission intensive products and production processes, including through border tax adjustments.

6. Ensure that initiatives to support international action for the immediate protection of the world's remaining indigenous forests (such as ‘avoided deforestation’) have ecological integrity and protect the rights of indigenous and forest-dependent peoples.

2. Reducing our Emissions

Regulation, direct government investment, public education and a comprehensive set of sectoral policies will deliver reduced emissions, with a price on emissions acting as an incentive. Direct investment by government (such as in afforestation on state land or public transport), regulation, support for research and development and public education are often more direct and powerful ways to reduce emissions than relying on price mechanisms alone.

The key sectoral policies to achieve these complementary measures include:

A. Research and Development: Support R&D for emissions reductions and sequestration, with a focus on agriculture and forest management (see our Agriculture and Forestry policies).

B. Energy: The Green Party will ensure that all energy is used much more efficiently. We will phase out fossil fuels and develop new renewables (see our Energy policy).

C. Transport: New Zealand's heavy reliance on the car means that transport is a sector where significant emissions reductions can and should occur (see our Transport policy).

D. Agriculture: New Zealand has a unique emissions profile compared to other OECD countries because agriculture produces about half of our climate changing emissions. Agriculture has some options for reducing emissions, in ways that are sustainable, many of which are already cost effective for farmers. There should be early and measured phase-in of a levy on greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector under appropriate obligations. A system of certification will be developed to provide incentives for on-farm mitigation, forest management and, in future, other forms of on farm sequestration (see our Agriculture policy).

E. Forestry: The Green Party will reverse deforestation and provide incentives for afforestation and sound management of our indigenous forests, including through payments or tax credits for certified sequestration, more support for the expansion of permanent forests, and improved pest control in indigenous forests (see our Forestry policy).

F. The Economy: The Green Party will ensure the transformation to a low emissions economy for New Zealand while promoting business innovation and clean technology opportunities, re-building our international reputation for safe and environmentally sound products, and creating green jobs (see our Economics policy).

G. The Environment: The Green Party will require the reduction of emissions by appropriate amendments to the Resource Management Act, the production of a National Policy Statement on greenhouse gases, and of regulations suited to the purposes of the Act and the Policy Statement (also see our Environment policy).

3. Emissions Price

An effective, credible and transparent economic instrument is needed to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions that will incentivise significant reductions. Critical features for any instrument are that it be comprehensive, sufficient to drive significant emissions reduction and innovation now, and that it include an annual price escalator.

The Green Party will:

1. Ensure the release of greenhouse gas emissions faces a price which, together with complementary measures, delivers the level of emission reduction necessary to achieve the targets and timeframes set out in this policy.

2. Work for a transition from the ineffective Emissions Trading Scheme to introduce an effective levy that provides a greater degree of certainty over the price on emissions, improved transparency, and far greater effectiveness in providing incentives for reduction of emissions. Issues around the surrender of New Zealand units from the existing scheme will be adequately addressed.

3. Establish the following features within the framework for an emissions levy in order to ensure the economic instrument will be effective:

a. A carbon budget to drive decisions on climate policy, with annual capped emissions budgets.

b. A priority on government regulation, investment and programmes that will support and enhance price signals.

c. An independent Climate Commission to advise the government.

d. A transparent Climate Fund to manage the revenue from the economic instrument and report back to the public.

e. A transition fund to protect vulnerable businesses, workers and households to enable them to adjust during a transition period.

f. An outreach and education programme to raise awareness and enable consumers to make low emission choices.

g. A study of potential Border Tax Adjustments to equalise emission costs for foreign and domestically-produced products.

4. Work with Māori in the design and implementation of an emissions levy to ensure it does not disproportionately impact upon Māori economic, environmental and cultural interests, or households.

5. Ensure that appropriately calculated credit payments will be available for greenhouse gas sequestration, for example by afforestation.

6. Recycle emission revenues into income tax reduction for all taxpayers, and into funding emission abatement.

4. Adaptation

Adaptation to climate change will be essential as many significant changes to our climate are already happening. While central government action is key to our international engagement and overall policy development, the Green Party recognises that local government, communities, civil society and business will be key partners in actually delivering on any adaptation strategies.

A. Social Adaptation

The Green Party will:

1. Assist low income and vulnerable sectors of society to adjust to the resulting changes in the economy by a range of measures, including energy efficiency, transport affordability and improvements in local authority planning systems

(see our Energy, Transport, Housing, Local Government, Food and Health policies).

2. Respond to the specific impacts on Māori communities that rely on fisheries, shellfish and forests for food and employment.

B. Environmental Adaptation

Climate changes threaten the survival of many species and ecosystems. The Green

Party will:

1. Fund research to identify the most at risk species and ecosystems in New Zealand

2. Research the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, both on land and at sea.

3. Support mechanisms, such as the protection and restoration of ecological corridors, to maintain and enhance the ability of indigenous species to respond or adapt to climate change.

4. Research impacts on primary production arising from emissions and climate change effects such as rainfall, pest abundance and ocean acidification.

5. Provide guidance to local authorities to plan long-term adaptation to sea level rises.

6. Ensure that DoC and other Crown assets are managed in a manner that supports ecosystem and species adaptation.

7. Apply the precautionary principle and rigorous analysis to any plan to apply geo-engineering or other technologies to combat climate change.

C. Economic Adaptation

There are many sectors of society that will be affected economically as we move to a

low emissions economy. Those who are most vulnerable must be assisted to adapt.

The Green party will:

1. Create high-level government and industry sector groups to investigate and make recommendations on how to manage climate change.

2. Shift the economies of communities dependent on coal away from coal mining.

3. Create a contestable fund for local government and community group adaptation projects.

D. International Adaptation

Poor and vulnerable communities around the world are already suffering the impacts of climate change, especially indigenous peoples, those living in low lying areas andour Pacific neighbours. The Green Party will:

1. Provide funding support for climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, additional to the international aid programme, in accordance with the Copenhagen Accord signed by New Zealand in 2009.

2. Assist our Pacific neighbours with the forced relocation of communities as a result of sea level rise and extreme weather, and engage positively with Pacific nations on their proposals for loss and damage compensation.

3. Build international support for urgent action to prevent even worse impacts to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities and environments, and support Pacific states in raising security issues related to the future survival of low lying island states in the UN Security Council.

---------------------------END-------------------------------------

2015

Yes We Can! A Plan for Significantly Reducing Carbon Emissions.

Options for domestic climate action to achieve a target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030

Green Party discussion paper, September 2015

Preface ................................................................................................................3

Summary ............................................................................................................4

Introduction .......................................................................................................5

A climate plan New Zealanders can be proud of .........................................8

The New Zealand Climate Commission.....................................................9

Priceoncarbon: A‘ClimateTaxCut’.......................................................10

Green Investment Bank ............................................................................ 12

Sector by sector policies ........................................................................... 13

Electricity.................................................................................................. 14

Transport ................................................................................................. 15

Other combustion of fossil fuels.......................................................... 17

Industrial processes............................................................................... 18 Waste........................................................................................................ 19

Agriculture ............................................................................................... 20 Forestry.................................................................................................... 22

Conclusion....................................................................................................... 25

Sources ............................................................................................................ 29

Authorised by James Shaw, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

In December 2015, representatives from governments across the world will gather in Paris to negotiate a global climate agreement. At these negotiations, New Zealand will be asked what we, as a nation, are willing to do to reduce our greenhouse emissions.

The answer to this question will define us. Are we going to do our fair share, or are we going to sit on our hands while we ask other countries to solve the problem for us?

The National Government’s provisional target of an 11 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2030 does not even come close to doing our fair share. If all countries followed New Zealand’s lead, catastrophic climate change would be the result.

New Zealand can do so much better.

Our fair share is at least a 40 percent reduction by 2030 on 1990 levels. Despite the National Government’s excuses, New Zealand can commit to this ambitious target. This is entirely possible, and it’s the path our economy must take if we want a stable climate.

We can achieve a bold climate plan with vision, leadership, and Kiwi ingenuity.

This discussion paper is a pathway to reach a more ambitious emissions reduction target. It is possible, through domestic climate action, for New Zealand to achieve a target of 40 percent by 2030.

It’s time for a climate plan that New Zealand can be proud of.

James Shaw

GREEN PARTY CO-LEADER AND SPOKESPERSON ON CLIMATE CHANGE James.Shaw@parliament.govt.nz

Climate change is the biggest issue of our time. New Zealand has the opportunity to show leadership while transitioning to a cleaner, fairer, smarter economy and a more prosperous future.

This discussion paper clearly sets out the steps the Government can take to achieve a climate plan New Zealanders can be proud of - a plan that sees our greenhouse pollution drop by a respectable 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

This target is the same as put forward by the European Union and puts us broadly on a straight-line path to being a (net) zero emissions economy by 2050.

We outline economy-wide policies that the Government can implement to reach a more ambitious target:

􏰀 A Climate Commission to assess the government’s progress on meeting targets and provide advice on improvements;
􏰀 A ‘Climate Tax Cut’ that puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions (except from agriculture) and recycles the revenue back to householders and businesses via tax credits
􏰀 A Green Investment Bank: to stimulate growth in low emissions economic activity.

This discussion paper also outlines new analysis that shows where emissions reductions can come from, sector by sector, and the policies to get us there. The policy details of each sector are elaborated on in appendices attached to this discussion document.

Climate change is the most challenging economic, environmental, and public health issue of our time.

The 800 scientists who produced the most comprehensive assessment of climate change ever undertaken – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report – conclude that climate change threatens irreversible and dangerous impacts. But, options exist to limit its effects - if countries work together to take climate action.1

All we need is the political will.

In December 2015, representatives from countries across the globe will gather in Paris to discuss how to keep our greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will stop global warming at 2°C – the threshold that the international scientific community has specified for averting ‘dangerous’ climate change.2 In advance of this meeting, countries have agreed to publish to what extent they will each reduce their post-2020 greenhouse gas emissions – a commitment known as their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC).3

In July 2015, the National Government announced a provisional INDC of 11 percent below 1990 levels, saying that anything more is too difficult because 50 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. The Government claims that in the absence of technologies to reduce agricultural emissions, New Zealand cannot meet an ambitious climate target.

The Government’s target is woefully inadequate and has been criticised across the spectrum, from health professionals, international analysts, newspaper editors, scientists, business leaders, conservation groups, to ordinary citizens.

Climate scientist Professor James Renwick of Victoria University of Wellington said, “if all countries followed New Zealand’s lead, we would be in for very significant climate change impacts and catastrophic damage to the New Zealand and global economy.”4 This means that to limit global warming to 2°C, other countries will have to pick up New Zealand’s slack.

The National Government’s provisional INDC of 11 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 should be put into context. The Government already has a pre-existing unconditional commitment to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2050.

Despite these previous emissions reduction commitments, New Zealand is continuing to move in the wrong direction under National. The latest figures show that New Zealand’s net emissions increased 13 percent from 2008 to 2013.

What’s more, the National Government has not released a plan for how they will get emissions to plateau, let alone decrease. The Government seems to be relying on ‘creative accounting’, like buying offshore credits, to meet its international climate commitments. What we need is a plan for how New Zealand will actually reduce our emissions.

This Government’s decision to put no effort into reducing emissions is a strategy that puts New Zealand at a distinct long-term disadvantage. Nearly all economists agree that the longer a country delays the transition to a low carbon economy, the greater it will cost.

New Zealand will reap significant benefits from an ambitious emissions reduction target that is met through domestic action. With the National Government, we are stuck with a backwards and hands-off approach that will leave us behind.

– The World Bank

Global emissions must reduce towards zero by 2100 or earlier to have a likely chance of keeping global warming to less than 2°C and avoiding the worst effects of climate change.5

For the sake of future generations and other life on the planet, we have a responsibility to address climate change. Taking action on climate change also presents a unique opportunity to transition to a cleaner, fairer, smarter, and more prosperous future.

This Green Party discussion paper shows that we can reduce New Zealand’s net annual greenhouse gas emissions to no more than 40 Mt of CO2-equivalent by 2030, even if there was a five year transition period for the farming industry. This is an emissions reduction of at least 40 percent below the 1990 gross emissions level and would put us broadly on a straight-line path to being climate neutral (zero net emissions) by 2050.

This plan includes economy-wide policies previously released by the Green Party, as well as new sector-specific analysis in electricity, transportation, other fossil fuel combustion, waste, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, and forestry. The calculations in this paper are drawn from a background research paper that will be released as part of a parliamentary conference later in the year.

The National Government, with all its Ministry researchers, consultants and analysts, has access to mountains of information that would be helpful in the discussion on climate change. Unfortunately, the Government has been very wary of releasing the information it has, and when it does release documents, they are often riddled with redactions. This Green Party climate discussion paper is produced using the best information we can get our hands on, and has been reviewed by experts. It’s a starting point - designed to open up the discussion.

This discussion paper is not what the Green Party would do if we were in Government. It is an attempt to overcome a political road block to climate action, put in place by the National Government. A Green Party climate plan for 2017 could look different. Not just because the political environment will likely have changed, but also because for every year we delay climate action, the more action we will need to take later on.

To show that a 40 percent reduction by 2030 is achievable, we have detailed where emissions reductions could come from, and the policies to get us there.

There are three overarching policies that can help reduce emissions across the board: creating an independent Climate Commission, putting a strong price on carbon, and establishing a Green Investment Bank.

These are policies that have previously been announced by the Green Party, and are each economy-wide measures that will hasten the shift to a low carbon economy.

We have also brought together analysis of the electricity, transportation, other fossil fuel combustion, waste, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, and forestry sectors, to outline a plan of reducing our domestic emissions to the required 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

To tackle climate change, we need an independent agency to assess the progress of the government’s climate policies and, if needed, to provide advice on how to adjust them to meet our targets.

New Zealand can follow the lead of the United Kingdom and establish an independent Climate Commission to become New Zealand’s foremost authority on climate change. Comprising recognised experts on climate change and macroeconomic policy, the Commission’s role would include setting the ongoing price of carbon, and recommending complementary measures for greenhouse gas emissions reduction in order to meet our targets.

The Green Party has committed to setting up such a commission and to implement its recommendations.6

Numerous reports, including from the OECD, conclude that a price on greenhouse emissions is necessary to reduce emissions at the lowest cost. In New Zealand, a price is put on greenhouse gas emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), first implemented in 2008. However, the National Government’s ETS settings are so weak that emissions have actually increased by 13 percent since the scheme was launched.7

New Zealand’s environmental watchdog, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has said, “unfortunately the ETS is currently little more than a framework. Excessively generous allocations of free carbon credits (subsidies) to major emitters and very low carbon prices mean that the ETS has been ineffective in encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within New Zealand.”8

Even worse, the ETS has sometimes acted as a reward for pollution, with companies able to profit from trading the free credits they are allocated.

To make a real difference to our greenhouse emissions, the Government can scrap the ineffective ETS and implement a revenue neutral carbon tax. The Green Party announced such a policy in 2014.9 We suggested a tax of $25 per tonne for all sectors, except for agriculture, which we suggested could start with a price of $12.50.

To reach our 40 percent by 2030 target, the Climate Commission would need to significantly increase the carbon price over time. However, starting low and increasing the price over time allows businesses the time to adjust to the new tax and make decisions accordingly.

The Green Party has also proposed recycling the revenue from a carbon tax back to households and businesses in the form of tax credits. Business and Economics Research Limited (BERL) modelled the effects of the Green Party’s Climate Tax Cut policy and found that the average household would be $319 better off under the 2014 policy. BERL said, “households will pay more for some of the commodities they consume

but income tax reductions would more than compensate for any price rises.”10

A carbon price works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because it provides a financial incentive for businesses to cut their emissions. Each carbon emitting company will look at cost effective ways to reduce carbon emissions in order to minimise the amount that the company has to pay under the carbon tax.

With a price on carbon, technologies that currently can’t quite compete with fossil fuels will become cost-effective, and the price will incentivise the development of new technology to replace fossil fuels further.

Furthermore, a price on carbon will make energy efficiency more profitable - people will respond to the incentive to not waste energy.

A Green Investment Bank could accelerate New Zealand’s transition to a low carbon economy. A government-owned, for-profit, Green Investment Bank11 would partner with the private sector to fund new projects ranging from renewable energy and biofuel production to new clean technologies. The OECD’s work has found that green banks play an important role in mobilising private and public sector capital into sustainable transition.12

We estimate a Green Investment Bank will cost $20 million to establish over three years and initially have a $100 million line of credit. This can be funded from oil royalties, which the Green Party believes should increase. Ending fossil fuel subsidies and raising the overall tax take from oil companies from the current 46 percent to the global average of 70 percent would give the Government more than enough money to cover the initial outlay of capital.

In time, a Green Investment Bank would see billions of dollars of (mainly) private sector finance invested in new renewable energy plants, solar panel installations, energy efficiency retrofits, the development and production of significant volumes of biofuels, and clean technology projects - all helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sector by Sector Policies

These economy-wide measures are necessary, but not sufficient to achieve an ambitious emissions reduction target. We also need sector- specific policies targeting many different levers for change.

We have brought together analysis of the electricity, transportation, other fossil fuel combustion, waste, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, and forestry sectors, to outline a plan for reducing our domestic emissions to the required 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

For each sector below, there is a detailed appendix explaining the methodology used to derive the emissions reduction figures. The headline numbers indicated for each sector are annual net emissions reductions by 2030 relative to today’s levels. The precise figure for New Zealand’s net emissions for 2015 is not available yet, but we estimate this at approximately 68 MtCO2-e.13

This means that to reach the 40 percent reduction target off the 1990 level of 66.6 Mt, we need to achieve a reduction of around 28Mt from today’s level.

We can reduce our domestic emissions and achieve this target by taking significant, yet necessary, steps in each of these sectors.

The Government has a target of producing 90 percent renewable electricity by 2025. The Green Party believes we can set our sights higher, and achieve 100 percent renewable by 2030.14 Achieving 100 percent renewable would require us to stop burning coal or natural gas for electricity generation. The last coal fired power station is set to close in 201815, so the remaining challenge is phasing out the production of power from natural gas.

Research from the University of Canterbury shows that 100 percent renewable electricity is feasible without compromising security of supply, even in a dry hydro year.16 There are over 3700MW worth of consented renewable power plants that are waiting to be built, and the Green Party’s Solar Homes17 and Solar Schools18 policies would encourage even more. These policies will provide low-cost loans to enable households and schools to invest in solar panels to enjoy sustainable power for decades. Furthermore, biomass-fuelled gas turbines and demand-side measures such as load shifting are all viable options to manage peaking requirements.

The Government can support energy conservation and distributed generation through initiatives that the Green Party has previously promoted, including:

􏰀 Smart Grid technologies;
􏰀 Real time electricity pricing;
􏰀 Limited fixed lines charges;
􏰀 Requiring electricity retailers to pay a fair price for those feeding-

in electricity with grid-connected renewable generation.

We can have more reliable and cleaner transport whilst also cutting emissions. To give people better transport choices, money can be reallocated from the Land Transport Fund that is currently earmarked for new motorways and instead invested in low-carbon alternatives like fast, reliable buses and trains, as well as safe, separated walking and cycling facilities.

An option to the Government would be to implement the Green Party’s dedicated transport plan for Auckland - a comprehensive transport network with integrated trains, buses, and ferries that will make getting around Auckland faster, easier, and cleaner. The plan reallocates $1.3 billion from the Land Transport Fund to capital investment for the City Rail Link (60 percent of the cost), and $825 million into dedicated busways and city bus centre improvements.19

Compact urban form makes it easier for people to get around and live without a car, and makes public and active transport more viable. Government support for smart, compact urban development through policy design can help cut transport emissions.

The Government can also cut transport emissions while making it easier for school kids, tertiary students, and apprentices to travel to their studies. The Green Party has a Safe to School policy that would allocate $50 million each year for four years to build safe cycling and walking infrastructure around schools. We also have committed to a Student Green Card policy that entitles all tertiary students and apprentices in New Zealand to free off-peak travel on buses, trains, and ferries.

With these policy measures in place we can expect New Zealand’s car travel to decrease by 2 percent per person per annum (it has already been falling at an average of 1 percent per person per annum for the last decade). This will create substantial emissions reductions, but even further emissions reductions are possible if the transition to a more climate-friendly vehicle fleet is incentivised through the introduction of fuel economy standards for vehicle imports, and by incentivising the uptake of electric vehicles.

If we implemented the policies above and reduced the emissions from our car fleet to 100g/CO2/km we could cut our annual transport emissions by 4.9Mt below 2015 levels by 2030.

The 100g/CO2/km emissions standard for our car fleet is achievable if the Government implements the European Union’s new vehicle standard of 95g/CO2/km by 2021. This would need to be followed by a transition to nearly 100 percent of new vehicle purchases being electric by 2030, while allowing used vehicle emissions standards to lag five years behind, and an increase in our vehicle turnover between 2020 and 2030. This is a realistic scenario if battery costs continue to decrease and new vehicle ownership models (e.g. car sharing) encourage a faster transition to electric vehicles.

The Green Party has promised to speed the transition of the private vehicle fleet to electric by investing $10 million into the roll-out of fast- charging electric car refuelling stations across New Zealand and $10 million in cash-back payments to electric car buyers over time. We will also lead by example and replace the Crown fleet (where appropriate) with zero emission electric vehicles, starting with the limousines. Furthermore, we would enable workplace charging across the government sector.

The Government can cut a further 2.8Mt per year in the transport sector by reducing emissions from freight through the use of biofuels. Road freight volume and emissions have grown hugely since 1990, and while they stalled in 2007, they have begun to increase again. In contrast, aviation, marine and rail have all maintained relatively flat emissions in recent years, and with a decent price on carbon this is likely to continue.

In order to reduce emissions from road freight, the Government can assist the mode shift to rail and support the uptake of biofuels. If the road freight industry were able to use 40 petajoules of biofuels per year, then freight emissions would reduce from 5.5 Mt CO2-e in 2015 to 2.7Mt CO2-e in 2030. Additional reductions would be gained through a shift to rail. Fuel demand could be kept flat through a combination of mode shift (more rail and coastal shipping) and efficiency gains.

This category covers the combustion of fossil fuels for all purposes beyond electricity generation or transport. The main source of emissions in this category is the combustion of fossil fuels for industrial heat, for example, in the production of milk powder.

There are steps we can take to make our industries more climate friendly. For example, the German Aerospace Centre argues we can save 3.7Mt of emissions if we reduce the use of thermal coal by 90 percent, reduce non-transport liquid fuel consumption by 40 percent, and keep gas consumption steady to 2030. The majority of thermal coal use is in the food processing sector to provide heat for drying milk. This happens especially in the South Island where there is no reticulated gas supply.

A strong price for carbon would incentivise the switch to carbon neutral geothermal heat, electricity, or biomass like woodwaste. Further gains can be made through energy efficiency, combined with large growth in the use of heat pumps, geothermal heat and solar collectors to provide low-grade heat.

Emissions in this category aren’t due to the burning of fossil fuels, but rather due to non-combustion industrial processes that emit greenhouse gases as a by-product, such as in the manufacture of steel, aluminium and concrete. Emissions of fluoro gases, called F-emissions, are also in this category. Fluoro gases are mainly used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, but are also used for some niche applications.

The European Union has introduced a package of regulations to cut total F-emissions by two-thirds from 2014 levels by 2030. The New Zealand Government could adopt these regulations as well, which would reduce our annual F-emissions by 1Mt below 2015 levels by 2030.

New Zealand can cut CO2 emissions from industrial processes by one- third by 2030 (1.1Mt) assuming that the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closed by its owner by 2030 and if we adopted new technologies in steel manufacturing. Examples of such technologies include New Zealand-developed CO2 capture and ‘green coke’. Lanzatech has demonstrated a successful pilot at the Glenbrook Steel Mill in which they captured one-third of the CO2 produced in steel production and converted it to ethanol, displacing fossil fuel use. Another New Zealand company, Carbonscape, is developing technology to produce ‘green coke’ from biomass, which could replace coking coal as a reducing agent for steel production.

Other process efficiencies driven by a carbon price and other measures could also contribute to emissions reductions. Structural changes to the economy such as a decline in the demand for cement and steel by replacing them with engineered laminated wood products, could also contribute.

New Zealand’s waste emissions per capita are the second highest in the developed world and are more than double the average. Several other countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK) have successfully reduced their waste emissions by more than 50 percent since 1990.

The UK has reduced waste emissions by 67 percent since 1990.20 Emissions were approximately flat to 1999, meaning this reduction has occurred over a period of roughly 15 years. This is almost entirely due to reduced methane emissions from landfill sites. Biodegradable waste sent to landfill has reduced by 70 percent since 1990, and the overall methane capture rate at landfills is estimated to have increased from 1 percent in 1990 to 61 percent today.

Based on this, it should be achievable to reduce New Zealand’s waste emissions by 40 to 70 percent by 2030, which would deliver a reduction of up to 3.6MtCO2-e.

Greenhouse gas emissions from waste are primarily methane caused by anaerobic degradation of biodegradable waste disposed in landfills and farm dumps. These emissions can be cut by reducing the quantity of biodegradable waste created and disposed of (including through increased recycling and composting), and increasing the capture of methane at landfill sites and through use of biodigesters, particularly on farms.

The biggest problem for New Zealand is smaller, unmanaged waste disposal sites, such as farm dumps, which contribute 55 percent of total emissions from solid waste. Farm dumps are estimated to be around 60 percent of this. Government could phase in regulation of these sites.

There has been reluctance by government to put a price on agricultural emissions. This reluctance has led to the Government giving agriculture a free pass for an indefinite amount of time. However, we cannot allow this special treatment forever.

The Green Party’s preference would be to incentivise climate-friendly farming by putting a charge on dairy emissions at $12.50 per tonne − equivalent to a reduction in the Fonterra pay-out of 8 cents per kilogram of milk solids.21

Given the urgency and value of a cross-party agreement on emissions reduction, the Green Party would accept a five year transition period for agriculture if National committed promptly to a 40 percent cut in New Zealand’s emissions by 2030.

This would recognise that agriculture must eventually do its share to help New Zealanders achieve a cleaner economy. The five year window for agriculture to reduce its emissions below today’s levels would allow it time to transition while keeping New Zealand moving towards our main goal - reducing our emissions and doing our bit to limit climate change.

The Green Party proposes that, in 2020, the Climate Commission would be tasked with setting policy to reduce agricultural emissions by at least 2.2Mt below 2015 levels by 2030. This is a modest reduction compared to the other sectors.

There is every possibility that agriculture will be able to make these modest reductions without government intervention via the Climate Commission.

There is evidence that New Zealand dairy farmers have been overstocking their farms, at the expense of the environment and their pockets.

Dairy NZ scientist John Roche says between 2003 and 2013 the average dairy farmer added 100 cows to their herd - but he says they're no

better off financially because they have to spend more on inputs such as supplementary feed.22

If the dairy industry takes steps to unwind its unprofitable trend towards ever-increasing intensification, then New Zealand may be able to meet the target of 2.2Mt below 2015 levels without government intervention. Already the recent dramatic drop in the dairy price has led to some de-intensification.

Low dairy prices are getting farmers to think about farming less intensively. The executive director of MyFarm, one of the country’s biggest farm owners with about 40 farms and 30,000 cows, has said it was actively discussing “winding back the clock” with investors to a different farm system that better suits lower, or more variable milk prices.23 This season MyFarm is culling more cows, reducing off-farm grazing, cutting back on feed supplements, and putting fewer cows on the land. It looks set to continue lower-intensity farming in the future. This new approach will mean that the land will be farmed less intensively. A typical 200ha farm will carry 525 cows, down from 600.24

If this decrease in cow numbers is replicated in 2,400 of the 4,000 similar sized (200+ ha) dairy farms in New Zealand, while all other farms keep their livestock at 2015 levels, then agriculture would more than meet its required 2.2Mt emissions reduction.25

If farmers are moving back to a low input, low intensity approach, then the step to being fully organic is not large. Global demand for organics is rising year on year, and provides New Zealand with a great opportunity to maximise value, not volume. Currently, Fonterra pays its organic milk suppliers a premium of $1.75/kg on top of its forecast payout of $3.85/kg for conventional suppliers.26 Internationally, the price for organic whole milk powder can be five times that of conventional milk powder - both Fonterra and New Zealand would be better off if organic conversions increased.

Combined, the cuts outlined in the previous sections add up to a total emissions reduction of 24.1Mt from today’s level. All other things constant, that is equivalent to a 2030 target of 35 percent below 1990 levels.

However, projected growth in net emissions from forestry, due to the harvesting of crop forests planted throughout the 1990s, threatens to undermine all those emissions reductions. These crop forests have been acting as a short-term carbon sink and obscuring the rise in New Zealand’s gross emissions. As they are harvested over the next 15 years, these forests become a huge liability and a challenge to achieving a strong 2030 emissions reduction target.

Fortunately, our analysis shows that it should be possible to counteract this extensive harvesting, and sequester enough carbon to meet the 40 percent reduction target.

For the other sectors, we have simply looked at the single year emissions value in 2030. In fact, New Zealand’s 2030 emissions target will be converted into a total cumulative ‘emissions budget’ for the years 2021-2030. For forestry, it is necessary to take a different approach because looking only at 2030 can obscure the full picture when we consider the longer cycle of planting and harvesting.

For a 40 percent target, we calculate a total 2021-2030 budget of around 490Mt. If we achieve the emissions reductions in all the sectors discussed above, our total gross emissions over the 2021-2030 period would be around 653Mt. This means we would need net sequestration (or removals) of around 163Mt between 2021-2030 from forestry to meet our 40 percent reduction target.

According to the latest official projections by the Ministry for the Environment, on our current path, forestry will in fact be a source of 52Mt of net emissions over the 2021-2030 period. This gives a total gap of 215Mt to be reduced.

This gap can firstly be reduced by limiting deforestation and conversion of existing forest land. The Deforestation Survey 2014, undertaken for the Ministry of Primary Industries, projects deforestation of around 5,000ha per year from 2020 onwards (mostly pre-1990 forest land to be converted to dairy). We assume that under a strong carbon price and other policies to contain dairy expansion, this could be reduced by 50- 100 percent, reducing total emissions over the 2021-2030 period by 20- 40Mt.

Second, we can offset the effects of the coming harvest through new planting on land currently used for other purposes. Work commissioned by the Green Party, as well as other research, shows that New Zealand has over 1.3 million hectares of Kyoto-compliant marginal land available for planting. Some of this land has exotic vegetation cover, while other marginal land has indigenous biodiversity values.

The Green Party would strengthen the National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry to protect areas of indigenous vegetation from being overplanted with exotics, strengthen sustainable forest practice, incentivise planting in native tree species, and incentivise the planting of appropriate places with Pinus radiata and other exotics species.

If New Zealand immediately embarked on a major planting regime of trees, we could sequester the required amount of carbon to meet the goal. Planting 50,000 hectares annually of permanent pine forest from now until 2030 would sequester about 180 Mt. The use of native species would require substantially more land than 50,000 hectares annually because of the lower sequestration rates of indigenous species in the short term. It is important to ensure that the planting, by species, is undertaken on the most appropriate land.

Another scenario, promoted by the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association, is to plant 100,000 hectares of pine forest from 2017-2027. This scenario would sequester 175Mt. This second scenario requires more land because the trees would be planted further apart allowing for harvesting and pruning, and also because the trees are planted later, and therefore sequester less carbon. This scenario would also mean less marginal land was available for native afforestation or

encouraging native regeneration with the co-benefits this has for indigenous biodiversity.

Combining the potential for reduced deforestation and new afforestation, we find that it is possible to achieve the net emissions reduction of 215Mt needed to meet the 40 percent target.

The Green Party acknowledges that the removal of livestock will have economic consequences for the farmers involved. However, we would incentivise the planting of these permanent forest sinks through the Afforestation Grant Scheme and the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative. We would also grant sequestration credits, to be set by the Climate Commission. We know from industry modelling that farmers will consider planting their marginal farmland at $16 a tonne.27

There are many direct benefits of retiring marginal pastoral land: erosion mitigation and soil conservation, improved water quality in downstream waterways, increase in indigenous biodiversity, and opportunities for local enterprises based on honey and plant-oil extracts from manuka/kanuka regenerating shrubland.

We can have a climate plan that works - one that New Zealanders can be proud of.

We can achieve an ambitious emissions reduction target if we have vision, leadership, and Kiwi ingenuity.

Under this National Government we are lagging behind. They have chosen to set one of the world’s weakest climate targets, complaining that anything more is too hard. Not only is their target weak, they also don’t have a plan to get us there.

We know that New Zealand can lead.
We have done it before and we should do it now.

Small well-off countries like New Zealand have an opportunity - in a way that large or poor countries don’t - to be nimble and quick and lead the way.

Providing global leadership by setting an ambitious target only increases the likelihood that big countries, on whom we are reliant, will also commit to ambitious action – and together we will avoid catastrophic climate change.

There is no moral case for us to continue to have the fifth highest per person emissions in the world, especially when we have been benefiting from our use of fossil fuels to achieve some of the highest standards of living in the world.

We cannot justify sitting on our hands and waiting for others to lead. It is our responsibility to set an ambitious target.

This target has to be at least a 40 percent reduction below 1990 emission levels.

But what use is a target without a plan to achieve it?

We need a plan to reduce our emissions, not just a costly strategy of buying our way out of our obligations.

As low as it is, even the National Government’s target can’t be reached because they have no plan to do so. They are likely to rely heavily on the purchase of overseas credits, opening New Zealand up to a multi- billion dollar bill.

A strong plan to cut our emissions is achievable. A Climate Commission can help us get there, as well as a Green Investment Bank to stimulate growth in low emissions economic activity. These will sit alongside a revenue-neutral Climate Tax Cut that puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions, and recycles the revenue back to householders and business via tax credits.

The benefits of taking strong action now will be significant and long lasting.

The National Government would have us believe that addressing climate change will require huge economic sacrifice and provide no benefits. They argue that we should take it slow and follow along behind other countries. But that’s not true. By showing leadership and taking action, we can have a more prosperous New Zealand now, and leave a stable climate for the future.

The transition to a net carbon zero economy is inevitable. The debate is only about timing. World leading economists all agree that the countries that transition first will be the most prosperous as the costs of transition continue to increase over time.

- Felipe Calderón, the Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate28

The National Government has chosen to view action on climate change solely as a cost. In fact, in their modelling they have only looked at the costs of climate mitigation, completely ignoring the many benefits of avoiding climate change.29

If we have a real action plan to cut our emissions, there are all sorts of benefits to be gained, even putting aside the main benefit of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Having a strong domestic plan will get us closer to our non-negotiable goal of net zero emissions for New Zealand while creating jobs and wealth for New Zealanders in the process. For example:

􏰀 The Government’s only plan is to purchase offshore credits at $50 a tonne.30 We know from the industry that farmers will consider planting trees on their marginal farmland at only $16 a tonne. So instead of sending the money offshore, why not spend it here where it will create jobs for New Zealanders, and keep the money onshore?
􏰀 If we improve the fuel-efficiency of our entire vehicle fleet by 20 percent we could save around $2 billion in annual fuel costs to the economy.31

Under these policies, we will have more vibrant, greener cities, where public transport is fast, clean, and affordable. Kids will be able to walk and cycle to school safety, freeing up the roads for commuters. And our

exporters will be more credible selling their goods to the world under New Zealand’s 100% Pure brand.

Agriculture is not the block to achieving a responsible climate target - the block is political will from this National Government.

This plan recognises that agriculture must eventually do its fair share. We have proposed a five year window, before requiring agriculture to reduce its emissions. This way, farmers will have time to transition while keeping New Zealand moving towards our main goal - reducing our emissions and doing our bit to reduce global warming.

There is no price you can put on leaving a stable climate for our children and their children.

Action on climate change is a win-win for people and the planet, now and into the future.

Can we do it?
Yes we can – and we must.

1 http://www.nzagrc.org.nz/news,listing,149,conclusion-of-the-ipcc-5th- assessment-report-climate-change-threatens-irreversible-and-dangerous- impacts-but-options-exist-to-limit-its-effects.html

2 UN (2012), The Cancun Agreements. Retrieved from:

http://unfccc.int/key_steps/cancun_agreements/items/6132.php 3 http://www.wri.org/indc-definition

4 http://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2015/07/07/nz-climate-target- announced-expert-reaction/

5 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/04/21/ipcc-chair-delaying- climate-action-raises-risks-costs

6 https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/smarter-economy/climate-protection-plan 7https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/Estimate%20of%20net%20emissi

ons%20increase%20under%20a%20National%20Government.pdf

8 http://www.pce.parliament.nz/assets/Uploads/Climate-change-agreemeent- submission-JUNE-2015.pdf

9 https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/smarter-economy/climate-protection-plan 10https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/green_party_climate_protection

_plan.pdf (p12) 11https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/policypdfs/green_investment_b

ank_policy_paper_web.pdf

12 http://www.oecd.org/g20/topics/energy-environment-green- growth/G20_report_on_GG_and_SD_final.pdf

13 This is based on projections from the Government’s Sixth National Communication to the UNFCCC and the Ministry for Environment’s Briefing to Incoming Ministers.

14 In average hydrological conditions.

15 http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/70875427/genesis-to-close-last-two- coalfired-power-units-at-huntly

16 Mason, Page, & Williamson (2013). Transitioning to a 100% renewable electricity system: balancing the roles of wind generation, base-load generation and hydro storage. Retrieved from: http://www.thesustainabilitysociety.org.nz/conference/2010/papers/Mason- Page-Williamson.pdf

17https://home.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/green_party_solar_homes_polic y_paper_160214.pdf

18 https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/smarter-economy/solar-schools 19 https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/policy-

pdfs/Green%20transport%20plan.pdf

20 Committee on Climate Change (2015). Meeting Carbon Budgets - Progress in reducing the UK’s emissions 2015 Report to Parliament https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/6.737_CCC- BOOK_WEB_030715_RFS.pdfhttps://www.theccc.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2013/06/CCC-Prog-Rep_Chap7_singles_web_1.pdf. Note that this is higher than the reduction reported in the UNFCCC GHG database (54%).

21 https://home.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/berl_report_30_may_2014.pdf, (p. 9).

22http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20175383 5/does-increasing-herd-sizes-really-get-farmers-any-extra-money

23http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11498 702

24 Ibid

25 According to the 2012 Statistics New Zealand Agricultural Census, there are over 4100 dairy farms that are 200ha or greater in size. If 2400 of these farms decreased their herd by 75 cows, then we would reduce emissions by 2.2 Mt.

This figure was derived from data in New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2013. Between 2012 and 2013 the dairy cattle population increased by 37,920 cows, and emissions from dairy cattle increased by 0.467Mt (p 123). Using this ratio we calculate that to reduce 2.2Mt we would need a decrease in the cow population of around 180,000 cows. This would require only 2400 dairy farms to decrease their herd size by 75 cattle.

26 http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/71254726/fonterra- desperate-for-high-value-organic-milk

27 http://www.parliament.nz/resource/0000215100
28 http://newclimateeconomy.net/sites/default/files/press_statement_-

_felipe_calderon_lima_cop_0.pdf

29 http://www.infometrics.co.nz/Forecasting/10266/901/Cost-of-an-Emissions- target

31 https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/01092015212222-0001.pdf

2017

Climate Protection Plan – For a Better Future

Green Party Election Priority

Summary

The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time. We

are the first generation that will feel its impact and the last

that can stop it. We all have a responsibility to act.

Meeting the challenge of climate change means protecting what we love

and transforming our economy and society for the better.

The Green Party will modernise New Zealand's economy by encouraging

investment in long-term, sustainable jobs in industries that are growing,

not in industries that are in their twilight years.

The Green Party's climate protection plan will allow New Zealand to take

advantage of the opportunities climate change brings while doing our bit

to protect the planet for future generations.

Here's how we're going to do it:

1. Pass the Zero Carbon Act, to legally require all future governments

to reduce emissions to net-zero by 2050 and lay out a plan for

doing so.

2. Establish an independent Climate Commission to advise

government on climate targets, emissions prices, and report

transparently on progress.

3. Replace the Emissions Trading Scheme with a new Kiwi Climate

Fund, responsible for charging climate polluters, providing

payments to foresters and recycling revenue back to all New

Zealanders as an annual dividend (estimated to be $250 per

person in 2020). The Climate Commission will advise on prices,

but initial payments and charges in 2020 are expected to be:

a. $40 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions.

b. $6 per tonne of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture.

c. $3 per tonne of methane emissions from agriculture.

d. $40 guaranteed payment for each tonne of carbon

sequestered by eligible forests.

4. Prioritise planting 1.2 billion trees across 1.1 million hectares of

erosion-prone land around New Zealand. This will be funded via

forestry payments from the Kiwi Climate Fund and by doubling

funding for the existing Afforestation Grant Scheme to $40

million, to regenerate native forest.

5. Establish a $100 million Green Infrastructure Fund to attract

private investment into new, clean infrastructure and industries.

6. Create a $210 million Transformational Farming Partnership Fund

to support farmers to transition to sustainable agriculture and

adapt to climate change. We will accelerate depreciation on dairy

farm equipment to ease the transition, and establish the 'Good

Food Aotearoa' accreditation scheme to help farmers take

advantage of growing demand for high-value sustainably-grown

food.

7. Commit to no new coal mines, deep-sea oil and gas drilling, and

fracking.

8. Direct public investment funds (e.g. the Super Fund and ACC

Fund) to completely divest from companies directly involved in

the exploration, mining, and production of fossil fuels.

9. Commit to 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030

by phasing out fossil fuel generation and incentivising clean,

renewable energy.

10. Invest in clean, electric transport, including new electric rail

lines in Auckland and Wellington.

a. Complete the electrification of the North Island Main Trunk

Line.

b. Set ambitious emission standards for imported vehicles.

c. Exempt electric vehicles from fringe benefit tax.

d. Invest $1 billion over 10 years to create safe cycling

networks in all major cities and towns.

11. Create a new humanitarian visa category for people displaced by

climate change in the Pacific.

The biggest challenge of our

time

Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time. lt is a

slow-moving disaster and depictions of rising

temperatures and melting glaciers means it often feels

distant and abstract. But that is beginning to change as

we see the effects of a changing climate here.

Cyclones, like Debbie and Cook that flooded the East Coast of New

Zealand this year, are becoming more intense because of climate

change.1 Coastal communities in South Dunedin, East Christchurch,

Granity on the West Coast, and many others, are noticing rising water

tables, flooding, and faster coastal erosion caused by rising seas.

Around $19 billion worth of property, 43,000 homes and 130,000 people

are at risk of exposure to predicted sea-level rise of 0.3 to 0.4 meters by

2050. Even this small increase means a 1 in 100 year storm-induced flood

will occur, on average, once year.2

A changing climate will present the next generation of farmers with

extraordinary challenges. Canterbury farmers would face double the

frequency of drought from 2030 and even drier rivers in summer.3

Nearly a quarter of global climate pollution

comes from countries like ours that, on their

own, contribute less than one percent of global

pollution.4 No country can sit this fight out

without undermining the global effort.

Collective global action is essential to protect our common home. New

Zealand's small size is frequently cited as an excuse to do nothing. This,

however, ignores the reality that we can only halt climate change if all

countries play their part.

For nine years the National Government has delayed action on climate

change and exacerbated the problem by supporting further fossil fuel

exploration and intensive agriculture. Unsurprisingly, net greenhouse gas

emissions have risen 21 percent under National (since 2008). They are

forecast to increase by another 30 percent between now and 2030.5 New

Zealand has the second-highest level of emissions per GDP unit and 5th

highest emissions per capita in the OECD.6

National has also undermined the few small steps it has taken to reduce

emissions. For example, weak targets put in place to increase electric

vehicles have been diluted by a decision to scrap the electric freight trains

and revert to polluting, diesel locomotives in the North Island.

The Emissions Trading Scheme- described as the government's

primary tool for addressing climate change- was reformed to the point of

ineffectiveness by National. In 2016, a government review of the ETS

found it had not resulted in any reduction in emissions7

The greatest opportunity of

our time

Taking action on climate change also presents a unique

opportunity to create a more prosperous, fairer New

Zealand while protecting and regenerating our

environment.

As countries take steps to reduce their own emissions, global demand is

ramping up for clean energy, clean tech, low-emission food, fibre, and

other materials.

Starting the transition today to create a low-carbon economy will mean

giving New Zealand businesses and farmers a competitive advantage so

they can cash in on new demand in global markets.

'Business as usual' is, frankly, too risky. Continuing to invest in

emissions-intensive agriculture, energy, and infrastructure risks leaving

New Zealand out in the cold as the global, low-carbon economy heats up.

National's plan is to carry on with business as usual, and spend nearly $10

billion over 10 years paying other countries to reduce pollution on our

behalf.8 That is an enormous sum of public money that could be invested

to better New Zealand.

The Plan

This Climate Protection Plan sets out the suite of

measures the Green Party will pursue in government to

create a cleaner, higher value economy and put New

Zealand on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to

net zero by 2050.

1. A Zero Carbon Act

In our first 100 days in government, the Green Party will pass a new lawthe

Zero Carbon Act- as the foundation for the Climate Protection Plan.

This law will require all future governments to reduce climate pollution

and lay out a plan for doing so.

The law's emphasis will be on transparency. it will guarantee the public's

right to know whether New Zealand is on track to meet its climate

obligations. lt will allow citizens to hold their government to account, in

court if necessary.

A Zero Carbon Act will require governments to:

Make legally binding targets. All governments will be required to

reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 and set five-yearly carbon

budgets (five-year targets) that lay out the pathway to net zero

emissions.

Establish an independent Climate Commission. The Commission

will advise the government on targets, policy planning, and

emissions prices. it will act as an independent watchdog, publishing

progress reports and highlighting problems.

Plan for adaptation and mitigation. Governments will be required

to outline a policy plan for how they will achieve five-yearly emission

reduction targets, create adaptation programmes, and undertake a

national climate risk assessment every five years.

Report on international assistance. Governments will be required

to report annually on finances given to developing countries to help

them mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The Climate Commission will be independent of Ministers and report

directly to Parliament in a similar way to the Ombudsman's Office.

Funding could be administered by the Officers of Parliament Committee

to ensure cross-party agreement. Based on the cost of similar

commissions overseas and in New Zealand, we expect the annual

operating cost to be around $6 million.

An indicative outline of the Zero Carbon Act developed by Generation

Zero, in collaboration with other NGOs, can be found at

www.zerocarbonact.nz.

2. The Kiwi Climate Fund

The Kiwi Climate Fund will replace the Emissions Trading Scheme ( ETS).

lt will include:

A charge on climate pollution (a carbon price), levied at the industry

level, i.e. on miners of coal and petroleum importers.

A guaranteed payment for forests that absorb climate pollution.

A universal dividend, paid annually to all New Zealanders aged 18

and over, from the Fund's surplus.

A carbon price is an indispensable part of any strategy to reducing

emissions in a fair and efficient way. By simply putting a price on

emissions we make polluting more costly and the alternatives, like solar

power, electric cars, energy-efficient heating, and sustainable agriculture

and forestry, more attractive. This is an important way to create the

incentives to switch from polluting production to low-emissions

alternatives, to avoid the creation of stranded assets, and to encourage

innovation.

New Zealand's system for pricing emissions- the ETS- is seriously

flawed. The ETS is complex and small technical changes that are not

easy to understand can be made quietly to undermine its effectiveness,

often as a result of pressure from lobby groups. The ETS could be

reformed and made effective, but it will always remain susceptible to

being undermined in the future. Crucially, the ETS has lost the confidence

of the New Zealand public and many businesses.

In contrast, a pollution charge is transparent, certain, easy to understand,

and hard to evade. This is important because action on climate change

requires the public to understand the tools being used so it can hold

government to account.

The Green Party's proposed climate pollution charge will apply to all

sectors of the economy. lt will be levied as far up the supply chain as

possible, i.e. on importers of petroleum and miners of coal, milk and meat

processors, ratherthan on households, small business, or farms.

Prices will ultimately be set by an independent Climate Commission. We

expect agricultural emissions to be bought progressively into the Kiwi

Climate Fund in 2020.

Pollution charges

An Independent Climate Commission will advise all governments on a fair

and cost-effective charge on emissions. The following initial prices are

indicative of where the Green Party expects charges to be set by 2020 in

carbon dioxide equivalent terms:

$40 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions (excluding biological

emissions from agriculture).

$6 per tonne of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture.

$3 per tonne of methane emissions from agriculture.

Foresters will receive a guaranteed minimum payment for every tonne of

carbon dioxide sequestered. This will initially be set at the same price as

the charge on carbon dioxide emissions, i.e. $40 per tonne.

The cost of continuing to emit will rise over time in line with the necessity

of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The future prices will be clearly

signalled so businesses, government, councils and others can plan ahead

with certainty.

A $40 carbon price in 2020 would be at the lower end of the price band of

NZ$41- NZ$70, considered to be consistent with limiting temperature

rises to 2 degrees.9 $40 per tonne is also consistent with current carbon

charges in many other countries and states.

Table 1: Comparable international

carbon prices in 201710

Jurisdiction

Carbon price

($NZ per tonne C02)

Sweden 176

Finland 86-92

Switzerland 117

France 46

Denmark 35

United Kingdom 31

Ireland 30

Alberta 21

A lower indicative price on agricultural emissions reflects that farmers

may face other levies to reduce pollution, such as on nitrogen leaching

into waterways. The Green Party has proposed such a levy in our Clean

Water, Great Farming policy package.

lt also acknowledges that to date farmers, unlike other businesses, have

had no real incentive to begin reducing emissions and are at different

starting point. Prices on agricultural emissions will be guided by the

Climate Commission and are likely to progressively increase.

A lower indicative price on methane reflects that there are currently fewer

options for reducing and measuring methane emissions, although

research progress may provide more options for methane reductions in

future.

A universal payment to New Zealanders

Every New Zealander has a stake in eliminating climate pollution. The

annual surplus from the Kiwi Climate Fund will be paid universally to all

New Zealanders, 18 years and older who are residents or citizens.

Assuming the above charges are set by 2020, New Zealanders can

expect an annual payment of around $250 each per year.

People on low incomes are often hit the hardest by the effects of climate

change. Redistributing pollution revenues through a universal dividend

will benefit low-income households and insulate against any rising cost in

energy bills.

The dividend could be credited annually by the Inland Revenue

Department. The cost of establishing the universal payment to New

Zealanders would be covered by savings from disestablishing the ETS.

What does the Kiwi Climate Fund mean for households?

Households will be better off under the Kiwi Climate Fund. With an initial

$40 carbon price, a households with two adults would receive an annual

dividend of around $500 in 2020. A higher carbon price will increase

some costs in the short term, such as for petrol. We estimate a $40

carbon price would add an additional $33 per year to electricity bills11 and

$60 a year to fuel costs12 for an average household. In sum, this leaves a

two-adult household around $400 better off.

In addition, the Green Party's proposed income tax changes will further

benefit most households. By reducing the bottom tax rate from 10.5

percent to 9 percent, and creating a new top tax rate of 40 percent on

income over $150,000, all households who earn less than $150,000 will

be better off. Most families will children will be substantially better off due

to changes to the welfare system and Working for Families, as outlined in

our Mending the Safety Net policy package.

What does the Kiwi Climate Fund mean for farmers?

Agriculture accounts for 49 percent of New Zealand's climate pollution,

with around half of this coming from dairy cows. The sooner we begin the

transition to lower-emission farming, the smoother that transition will be.

lt will also increase the opportunity for New Zealand farmers and rural

land users to gain a competitive advantage in, and greater share of, the

demand for low emission, high-value produce.

Around $20 million in taxpayers' money is currently spent annually on

research to fund new practices and technologies to reduce agricultural

pollution.13 Putting a charge on climate pollution will encourage the

agricultural sector to progress and commercialise technologies aimed at

reducing pollution. lt should also encourage change in land use and

potentially fewer cows on the land.

The charge on biological emissions will likely be levied at the meat and

milk processor level until such time farmers wish to take responsibility for

emissions themselves. This should encourage processors to gather data

on farm practices, better measurement of on-farm emissions, and

provide rebates or higher pay-outs to low-emission farmers.

The flow-on effect of the cost of a charge on agricultural emissions is

detailed below. This assumes no action is taken on farms to reduce

emissions.

Table 2: Impact on an average farm from emissions charge if no

action is taken to reduce emissions14

Charge on Charge Total Trees

Farm type Nitrous on Additional needed to

Oxide (C02- Methane Annual neutralise

e) (C02-e) Cost cost

Standard Dairy

Farm $3 per 6.8

419 Dairy cattle $6 per tonne $4621

144 hectares tonne hectares

$267,000 pre-tax

profit (5yr average)

Standard Sheep

and Beef Farm

340 cattle $3 per 2680 sheep $6 per tonne $6083 9 hectares tonne 627 hectares

$136,000 pre-tax

pt·ofit

One simple way farmers could offset this cost is by planting trees. Planting

nine hectares on a typical sheep and beef farm or 6.8 hectares on a typical

dairy farm would neutralise this cost over 10 years. Tree planting could also

provide additional revenue streams e.g. through manuka honey, or

harvesting for timber. Farmers will be able to count riparian planting, and

areas of regenerating native forest on their properties, for carbon offset

purposes.

The agricultural sector currently has options for reducing emissions but

has little incentive to commercialise or implement them. These include

breeding low-emitting sheep and cattle, introducing supplementary feed

that produces less nitrous oxide and methane, optimising stocking rates,

diversifying land-use to include more crops and horticulture, and

converting to organic farming systems.15

As outlined in our Clean Water, Great Farming policy, the Green Party will

support farmers in this transition by creating a $210 million

Transformational Farming Partnership Fund. This will work like the

Primary Growth Partnership with a focus on sustainability and adaptation

to climate change. We'll also accelerate depreciation on dairy farm

equipment to support a transition away from intensive models, and

establish the 'Good Food Aotearoa' accreditation scheme to help farmers

take advantage of growing demand for high-value sustain ably grown

food.

For more information: https://www.greens.org.nz/great-farmingcleaner-

Water

Phasing out the ETS and dealing with existing carbon credits

The New Zealand Unit (NZU) "carbon credits" held by emitters and

foresters represent a billion dollar liability on the government's books.

The Green Party will work with industry and the forestry sector to unwind

this obligation in a way that is fair and maintains an effective price signal.

Industrial NZUs will be treated separately from forestry NZUs. Industrial

NZUs will no longer be traded across sectors. Holders of industrial NZUs

will be able to surrender them in lieu of paying a carbon charge. However,

their value will be fixed at the current carbon price (currently around $18).

The surrender of industrial NZUs will be regulated and staggered over a

number of years to maintain the integrity of the Kiwi Climate Fund.

Forestry NZ Us will continue to be traded within the forestry sector and be

surrendered in lieu of a carbon charge to offset any emissions from

deforestation.

Emissions intensive and trade-exposed emitters

A number of emissions-intensive and trade-exposed businesses

currently avoid paying for 60 to 90 percent of their emissions. The Green

Party expects that the independent Climate Commission will assess

exemptions for trade-exposed businesses on a case-by-case basis,

taking into account the actions that our trade competitors are taking to

reduce emissions.

For the purposes of modelling the Kiwi Climate Fund, we have assumed

that in 2020, 50 percent of emissions in trade-exposed industries remain

.17 exempt. This is a conservative assumption used for planning purposes

and each case will be subject to an agreed pathway that brings the

relevant industrial emitter into the carbon pricing mechanism over time.

Fiscal implications

Revenue from the carbon charge will be recycled back to foresters and all

New Zealanders through a universal dividend.

With a carbon charge set at $40 per tonne of C02-e ($6 per tonne for

nitrous oxide and $3 per tonne for methane and agriculture) we forecast a

revenue stream of $1.7 billion in 2020.

After removing forestry payments and forgone revenue from the

surrender of banked NZUs we expect a surplus of around $990 million in

2020.16

Table 3: Summary of revenue implications

Carbon charge revenues $1,722 M

Less forestry payments -$630 M

Less forgone NZU revenue -$106 M

Less Dividend -$990 M

We expect the Emissions Trading Scheme to continue in 2018. In 2019,

we have modelled the Kiwi Climate Fund to be established with an initial

carbon price of around $30 per tonne for most emitters and no charge on

biological emissions from agriculture.

3. Planting trees

Tree planting on marginal land has the potential to provide new income

for farmers, absorb climate-damaging pollution, limit erosion, protect

waterways, enrich soil, and increase habitat for native species.

Despite the enormous private and public benefits of tree planting, there

has been significant deforestation over the past 9 years. Since 2008, on

average, 8500 more hectares of land has been deforested than planted

every year Satellite imagery has also shown that between 1996 and

2014, New Zealand lost more than 10,000 ha of native and regenerating

forest.18 This reduction in our sequestration (the ability for trees to absorb

climate pollution) negates any progress towards reducing our emissions

in other parts of the economy.

The Green Party will encourage planting of 1.2 billion trees across 1.1

million hectares of land at serious risk of erosion.19 This is generally less

productive land that could be converted to income-generating and

carbon -sequestering forest.

Planting of this land will be done with sensitivity to protect indigenous

biodiversity, landscape, and other values. We will ensure that plantation

forestry and harvesting does not undermine goals of enhancing water

quality and quantity, and preventing soil erosion. National policy

instruments such as the National Environmental Standard for Plantation

Forestry may require changes to achieve this.

The Kiwi Climate Fund will provide a minimum payment to foresters and

farmers planting trees for every tonne of carbon dioxide sequestered. At a

$40 carbon price, the average hectare of New Zealand pine forest would

return:

$6,760 over 10 years

$18,240 over 20 years

$30,342 over 30 years.20

The payments would be returned by forest owners if the land is not

replanted after a cutting cycle. These payments will be additional to any

income generated from the commercialisation of forest products, such as

for honey or for timber.

Native tree planting -expanding the Afforestation Grant Scheme

Regenerating our native forests should be a major part of New Zealand's

climate change solution. Native trees shape the beauty of our landscape,

provide habitat for our native birds and insects, enrich soil, protect our

waterways, and sequester carbon.

However large-scale planting of native trees is unprecedented and the

cost of planting and regenerating native forests is not well known.21

Government support is needed to kick-start native tree planting.

The Green Party will double funding for the Afforestation Grant Scheme

(AGS) to $40 million between 2018 and 2020. Grants will be used

exclusively for native tree planting.



The scheme will operate under the current AGS rules, however, all grants

will go towards native tree planting. 22 Planting of both permanent and

harvestable native forests will be eligible. A grant per hectare will be

determined by officials after consultation with experts and growers of

native trees, with advice from the Climate Commission.

Land holders will be able to claim payment once a native forest is

successfully established and verified by the Ministry for Primary

Industries.

Changing the size of land eligible for forestry payments

The current definition of forest land eligible for carbon credits means

many small forests and strips of riparian planting are not eligible for

payments, yet they do make a positive difference for the climate. This

discourages farmers and small land holders from planting riparian strips

and erosion prone land.

The current definition states forest must be at least a hectare in size and

have a tree crown cover with an average width of at least 30 metres.23

The Green Party will allow land holders to aggregate planting of riparian

strips or small forestry blocks in order to meet this minimum standard.

This will allow farmers and other land holders to gain payments for

riparian planting and planting of small erosion prone sections of land.

4. The Green Infrastructure Fund

Overseas, the clean technology sector has taken off, but the National

Government has neglected its potential in favour of pollution-intensive

industries like dairy, coal, and oil.

The Green Party will establish a Green Infrastructure Fund to kick-start

investment into green infrastructure and industries. This will support New

Zealand businesses to take advantage of the high-value, job rich

opportunities a clean economy can deliver.

An initial injection of $100 million from the government will attract private

investors like pension and KiwiSaver funds to eo-invest in projects like:

renewable energy generation

energy efficiency building and housing retro-fits

sustainable agricultural projects like on-farm energy production.

Experience from overseas suggests up to $10 of private sector finance

can be attracted for every $1 of government finance,

The Green Infrastructure Fund will cost $110 million over three years,

initially paid for by raising oil royalty rates from 46 percent to the

international average rate of 70 percent. lt will operate at arm's length

from government, similar to the Super Fund.

More information: https://www. qreens.orq. nz/policy/economicpol

icies/ qreen-in frastructur e-fund

5. No new coal mines, deep sea oil and gas drilling, or fracking

The world cannot burn the fossi I fuel reserves already

discovered without causing catastrophic global warming.

There is no need to look for more.

lt is morally indefensible to explore for more fossil fuels when the science

is clear that we cannot burn more than two thirds of existing oil reserves

or 80 percent of know coal reserves without a catastrophic effect on the

climate.24

Despite this evidence, the National Government is allowing an application

for a new coal mine on high-value conservation land on the West Coast to

go ahead.25 National has opened up large swaths of New Zealand's

oceans for oil and gas exploration, including in the Maui's dolphin

sanctuary off the Taranaki coast.2° Fossil fuel exploration is also being

allowed in parts of Fiord land, such as Lake Te Anau.

The Green Party will not accept applications for new coal mines or deepsea

oil and gas exploration and drilling. We will place a moratorium on

hydraulic fracturing ("fracking").

We will support a just transition to new jobs for workers in these

industries. For example, current coal mines and other sunset fossil fuel

industries will be allowed to continue until their natural end of life. In



government, we will work closely with communities, unions, and training

institutions to ensure working people in the fossil fuel industry have new

opportunities for well-paid, sustainable, and secure employment. There

is no one size fits all approach to this, and different solutions will be

appropriate in different parts of New Zealand.

A just transition approach will help to reduce the sudden layoffs

experienced at the whim of the boom-bust coal industry, such as from

Solid Energy in recent years.

6. 100% renewable electricity by 2030

In 1980, over 90 percent of New Zealand's electricity was from renewable

generation, but in 2016 it was just 85 percent.27 The Government is not on

track to meet its goal of returning to 90 percent renewable electricity,

according to the International Energy Agency.28

The Green Party is committed to 100 percent renewable electricity

generation by 2030 (under normal hydrological conditions). A charge on

carbon emissions and a ban on new fossil fuel generation will support this

goal. As old fossil fuel power plants reach the end of their lives, we will

make sure they are replaced by clean, renewable options. That means

more wind, solar, and geothermal power. We will build on the plan we

developed in early 2016 to map out a pathway with the electricity industry

to reach this goal.

For more information: https://www.qreens.orq.nz/policy/cleanerenvironment/empowerinq-

7. Divesting From Fossil Fuels

As the vast majority of known fossil fuel reserves cannot

be safely burnt without cooking the climate. Further

investment in fossil fuel mining, exploration, and

production is both unethical and financially risky.

The Green Party will draw a line in the sand for fossil fuel investment by:

Directing public fund managers to divest from companies directly

involved in the exploration, mining, and production of fossil fuels.

Requiring fund managers to actively measure, manage, and report

on their fund's exposure to climate change risks.

For more information: https://www.qreens.orq.nz/policy/smartereconomy/

safe-school

9. A new visa for people displaced by climate change

Climate change is putting the lives and livelihoods of some of our closest

neighbours in low-lying Pacific nations at risk. Leaving one's country is a

last resort, but there is a growing number of people who have no choice

and this problem is likely to get worse.31

The Green Party will trial a new humanitarian visa of 100 places per year

for people displaced by climate change in the Pacific. lt will be made

available to applicants from many Pacific Island nations who have a

genuine fear of permanent displacement because of environmental

changes due to climate change.

For more information: https://www.greens.org.nz/policy/fairersociety/we

lcom i nq-more-refugees

Authorised by James Shaw, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

1http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201841933/climate-changelikely-

made-cyclones-cook-and-debbie-worse

2 https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/CH_Guide_Draft4-webversion.pdf

3 Royal Society of New Zealand (2016) Climate Change Implications for New Zealand., P. 42

4 http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/10.pdf p. 30

5 http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Climate%20Change/second-biennial-report.pdf

6 http://www.oecd.org/newzealand/environmental-pressures-rising-in-new-zealand.htm

7 http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Climate%20Change/ets-evaluation-report.pdf

8 http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Climate%20Change/general-equilibriumanalysis_

0.pdf

9 This price range is sourced from a 2017 report by collection of leading economists and climate

change energy specialist – the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices. See page 30 of the report.

10 http://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/map_data

11 Sourced from MBIE report on electricity prices and sector emissions.

12 Average household expenditure on vehicle fuels sourced from Statistics NZ. Household Economic

Survey. Liquid fuel emission assumptions based on Ministry for the Environment reporting.

13 http://www.mpi.govt.nz/protection-and-response/environment-and-naturalresources/

emissions-trading-scheme/agriculture-and-greenhouse-gases/

14 Standard Dairy Farm Income, herd sizes and land area assumptions sourced from DairyNZ.

Standard Sheep and Beef Farm income, herd size, and land area assumptions sourced from Beef and

Lamb Benchmarking. We have assumed that livestock’s share of methane and nitrous oxide

emissions is proportionate to the emissions distribution among livestock categories for Enteric

Fermentation and Agricultural Soils. This information is sourced from New Zealand’s Greenhouse

Gas Inventory 2015. The number of hectares needed to neutralise the cost over a 10 year period

assumes a carbon price of $40 and is based on the average sequestration per hectare of pine across

all regions in New Zealand. Figures sourced from Schedule 6 of the Climate Change (Forestry Sector)

Regulations 2008.

15 http://www.pce.parliament.nz/publications/climate-change-and-agriculture-understanding-thebiological-

greenhouse-gases

16 This assumes business as usual rates of emissions in 2020.

17 Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2013.

18 Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand, ‘Environment Aotearoa 2015: Data to

2013’, New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series (Wellington, NZ: Ministry for the Environment

and Statistics New Zealand, October 2015), 80.

19 Erosion prone land figure sourced from https://www.mpi.govt.nz/funding-andprogrammes/

forestry/afforestation-grant-scheme/. 1.2 billion tree figure assumes around 1000

trees per hectare for exotic forests and 1400 trees per hectare for native forests.

20 This assumes a constant carbon price of $40 per tonne over 10 years. Figures are sourced from

Schedule 6 of the Climate Change (Forestry Sector) Regulations 2008.

21 http://motu-www.motu.org.nz/wpapers/17_01.pdf

22 http://www.mpi.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/forestry/afforestation-grant-scheme/

23 https://mpi.govt.nz/growing-and-harvesting/forestry/forestry-in-the-emissions-trading-scheme/

24http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14016.html?foxtrotcallback=true#

affil-auth

25 http://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/have-your-say/all-consultations/2015/notification-ofaccess-

arrangement-for-mining-permit-41289-mt-te-kuha/

26 http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/03/oil-drilling-in-maui-dolphin-habitatthreatens-

species-green-party.html

Authorised by James Shaw, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

27 MBIE, Energy in New Zealand 2016, http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectorsindustries/

energy/energy-data-modelling/publications/energy-in-new-zealand/energy-in-nz-

2016.pdf

28 International Energy Agency, New Zealand 2017 Country Review, 2017,

https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/EnergyPoliciesofIEACountriesNewZe

aland2017.pdf

29 http://www.transport.govt.nz/ourwork/climatechange/

30 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/88550720/peter-reidy-emissions-saving-realprize-

in-switch-to-diesl-locos

31 Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees address to the Third

Committee of the General Assembly, 70th Session (New York, November 3, 2015)

http://www.unhcr.org/563a17566.html

2020

Climate Change Policy

Authorised by Gwen Shaw, Level 1, 17 Garrett St, Wellington

Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 1

Vision

The Green Party envisions an Aotearoa New Zealand in which Government at all

levels, iwi, communities, industry, and research institutions are aligned and

collaborate in taking urgent, informed and sustained action to decrease and manage

the adverse effects of global climate change. Collectively we understand that human induced climate change represents one of the greatest threats to our living world and

- through its impact on the life-supporting capacity of our natural environment,

specifically air, change in a way that respects all living organisms,

including all people, and provides for a just, equitable and resilient society.

• Lead the international response to climate change by example.

Successful climate change mitigation and adaptation will be achieved by the

combined effect of multiple Green Party policies working in conjunction with this one.

See our Agriculture and Rural Affairs , Conservation, Economic, Energy, Environmental

Protection, Food, Forestry, Global Affairs, Health, Housing and Sustainable

Communities, Mining, and Transport policies.

Key Principles

1. We must act according to the scientific consensus and credible emerging

science on climate change, which increasingly demands urgent action to Climate Change Policy reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, and sustained action to

safely remove excess greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, in order to

reduce the adverse impacts of climate change.

2. Te ao Māori offers us a framework for a sustainable pathway forward. Our

response to climate change should be founded upon the tikanga (values) and

matauranga (knowledge) of tangata whenua, and must respect and express Te

Tiriti o Waitangi to ensure that the effects of climate change and our response

to it do not disproportionally impact upon the tangata whenua.

3. We have an obligation to act for the sake of vulnerable people, the wellbeing of

current and future generations, the integrity of diverse ecosystems and the

retention of a viable biosphere.

4. Because of the extensive lag time in climate effects, we must prepare for

climate changes locked in by greenhouse gas emissions to date and act with

greater urgency than current conditions would suggest.

5. Global agreements are crucial for concerted global action and we should play a

constructive role in achieving, upholding, and implementing a fair, effective,

binding and ambitious agreements.

6. We accept our historic and current contribution to global warming through

greenhouse gas emissions and the common but differentiated responsibility to

reduce emissions it implies, internationally, so that, as a high-emitting nation,

we should move further and faster towards a sustainable level of global

emissions with broadly equal emissions per person, and support less

developed countries to develop sustainably.

7. Social equity and ecological sustainability must be inherent in the way we

respond to climate change; we must lead and foster a Just Transition1.

8. Climate change is a complex problem. A range of mechanisms at all levels is

needed to successfully respond to it. These include: legislation and regulations,

economic instruments (including emission pricing and public investment),

community action, and initiatives by business and other organisations.

9. Management of greenhouse gases should, so far as practicable, recognise that

these gases differ in their origin, chemical nature, climate changing effects,

persistence and assimilation by natural systems.

10. Our response to climate change should ensure community wellbeing and

resilience in the short- and long term, supported by thriving local democracies

and resilient economies so as to minimise the impacts of climate change and

our response to it on low income and other vulnerable sectors of society.

11. Transparency, credibility, education and participation are essential if all

stakeholders are to accept and trust the policy framework and change their

behaviour as a result.

Note 1 . A Just Transition is a change which upholds the rights and dignity of all involved, with a focus on equity and justice. It requires a managed approach to employment and community wellbeing in areas that have traditionally relied on unsustainable industries. It involves communities being involved in planning for their own transition, and acknowledges that different people, families, communities, and regions will benefit from different approaches.

Specific Policy Points

1. Targets and Agreements

A. Domestic

Policy Positions

1.1. Establish a clear strategy, action plan and carbon budget for a rapid

transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy, in line with

keeping the average global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

1.2. Take steps to rapidly achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions

economy in Aotearoa New Zealand in line with limiting global warming to 1.5

degrees over pre-industrial levels, ensuring a long-term balance of its

greenhouse gas emissions and its carbon sequestration.

1.3. Regularly review national interim timeframes and targets for achieving

domestic greenhouse gas emission reductions, to ensure that New Zealand

commits to deep, early reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Early

reductions have a greater long-term net benefit to our environment, society

and economy.

1.4. Regularly review Aotearoa New Zealand's progress towards these national

targets at least every two years in order to keep up with the latest

developments in our greenhouse gas emission profile, climate science and

technology.

1.5. Work with local Government and economic sectors to encourage and

support them to set targets in line with this policy and monitor progress

toward them.

B. International

As a colonised nation grappling with realising indigenous rights and as a nation with

opportunities created by its industrialised economy, Aotearoa New Zealand must use

its influence and experiences to press for effective implementation of international

agreements that aim to stabilise the global climate at a safe level and increasing the

participation of and respect for indigenous people in international fora.

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 3

Policy Positions

1.6. Work with all countries to uphold, implement, and strengthen the UN bodies

relating to climate change and the Paris Agreement, and support other

international agreements that effectively achieve net zero emissions

globally and are in line with this Climate Change Policy.

1.7. Ensure that the principles of equity, common but differentiated

responsibility, and ecological sustainability are reflected in international

climate change agreements, and that there are mechanisms to ensure

compliance with commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within

a Just Transition framework.

1.8. Seek to accelerate the international phase out of fossil fuels and an

immediate end to fossil fuel subsidies, and support developing countries to

move quickly to a low or zero emissions economy.

1.9. Ensure that international agreements for forests and other forms of carbon

sequestration have ecological integrity and sound accounting rules.

1.10. Ensure that all our international trade agreements enable countries,

including Aotearoa New Zealand, to implement low emission economic

policies and practices, allowing, for example, a carbon tax on energy

intensive imports from countries which have not set binding targets for

reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with keeping the average

global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

1.11. Work with other countries, particularly those that are home to the world's

remaining indigenous forests, to develop and support initiatives that protect

the forests’ ecological integrity and the rights of indigenous and forestdependent

peoples.

1.12. Advocate for binding international commitments that will allow vulnerable

countries, particularly Pacific Island countries, to protect their peoples,

cultures and biodiversity.

See also our Global Affairs Policy.

2. Reducing our Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Our nation as a whole must undertake a Just Transition to a net-zero emissions

economy. This means all sectors whose activities contribute to greenhouse gas

emissions must make changes to bring emissions down to sustainable levels, taking

account of offsetting capacity.

Legislation and regulation, direct investment by central and local Government

alongside strategic partnering, public education and community action, and

initiatives by both business and organisations will deliver reduced emissions. Direct

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 4

investment by government (such as in afforestation on state land or public

transport), regulation, support for research and development and public education

are often important demonstrations of leadership and provide direct and powerful

ways to reduce emissions to complement pricing mechanisms.

Policy Positions

2.1. Research, Development and Innovation: Partner with businesses and other

organisations, invest in Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) for

production methods and mitigation technologies to enable a successful

greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sequestration programme, with an

immediate focus on transport, industrial energy use, food and natural fibre

systems and forest management (see our Transport, Energy, Agriculture

and Rural Affairs and Forestry policies).

2.2. Energy: Ensure that all energy is used much more efficiently, phase out

fossil fuels and develop new renewables (see our Energy policy). Take a

whole of system approach to our energy usage, recognising the role of

electrification and other emerging technologies in, for example, reducing

transport greenhouse gas emissions, and recognising the increasing

importance of energy resilience for our communities.

2.3. Transport: Reduce Aotearoa New Zealand’s reliance on fossil fuelled

vehicles by prioritising investment in active transport, public transport, and

electric rail for both passenger and freight, as well as incentivising the

electrification of the light vehicle fleet. For transport that cannot currently

be electrified, such as domestic flights and shipping, support research and

development to assist the development of alternatives (see our Transport

policy).

2.4. Agriculture: Immediately begin a phase-in of greenhouse gas emission

pricing for agriculture, along with suitable support for a Just Transition for

affected communities. There are cost-effective ways to reduce agricultural

emissions, many of which also boost on-farm productivity, biodiversity and

resilience and reduce other forms of pollution (see our Agriculture and

Rural Affairs policy).

2.5. Forestry: Reverse net deforestation trends and provide incentives for

resilient afforestation and sound management of our indigenous forests,

including through payments or tax credits for certified carbon

sequestration, more support for the expansion of permanent forests, and

improved pest control in indigenous forests (see our Forestry policy).

2.6. The Wider Economy: Ensure the transformation to a net-zero greenhouse

gas emissions economy for Aotearoa New Zealand while building diverse,

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 5

resilient local economies, promoting business innovation and clean

technology opportunities, re-building our international reputation for safe

and environmentally sound products, and creating green jobs (see our

Economic policy).

2.7. Legal Environmental Framework: Require the reduction of emissions by

appropriate amendments to the Resource Management Act, the production

of a National Policy Statement on greenhouse gases, and of regulations

suited to the purposes of the Act and the Policy Statement (see our

Environmental Protection policy).

3. Emissions Price

An economic instrument that puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions is needed to

incentivise an economic transformation to a net-zero emission economy.

Policy Positions

3.1. Ensure the release of greenhouse gas emissions faces a price which,

together with complementary measures, aims to delivers the level of

emission reduction necessary to achieve the targets and timeframes set

out in this policy and is:

a) Effective: Comprehensive, sufficient to drive immediate, significant

emissions reduction and innovation and matched with national

emissions budgets to ensure scaling down of emissions to sustainable

levels and to keep building the momentum for change.

b) Transparent: clearly signals that all polluting sectors will, within a short,

set time, pay for the environmental and societal impacts of their

emissions

c) Responsible: Takes into account Aotearoa New Zealand's international

responsibilities and obligations, the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o

Waitangi and its responsibility for the current and future wellbeing of all

its people and natural environment, and be designed so as to manage

short- and long-term fiscal risk to the Crown in a responsible manner.

d) Credible: Designed and tested using economic and scientific modelling.

e) Fair: Developed in partnership with tangata whenua and in consultation

with communities and Local Government, to ensure it does not

disproportionately impact upon Māori economic, environmental and

cultural interests or communities, or the vulnerable communities and

regions of Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 6

3.2. Improve the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to ensure this drives a

reduction in emissions, while urgently working towards the replacement of

the ETS with an effective emissions levy.

3.3. Establish the following features to complement emissions pricing, and

ensure the overall approach will reduce emissions as quickly as needed:

a) A carbon budget to drive decisions on climate policy, with annual capped

emissions budgets. These emissions budgets should, at a minimum,

represent Aotearoa New Zealand’s fair share of the global emissions

reductions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and,

moreover, should show international leadership in recognition of

Aotearoa New Zealand’s common but differentiated responsibility to

mitigate this global problem.

b) A priority on government regulation, investment and programmes that

will support and enhance the price signals described above.

c) An independent Climate Commission to advise Central and Local

Government that respects and expresses Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

d) A transparent Climate Fund to manage the revenue from the economic

instrument and report back to the public.

e) A Just Transition fund to protect vulnerable regions, businesses, workers

and households to enable them to adjust during a transition period.

f) An outreach and education programme to raise awareness and enable

producers and consumers to make low-emission choices.

g) A study of potential Border Tax Adjustments to equalise emission costs

for foreign and domestically-produced products.

3.4. Ensure that appropriately calculated credit payments will be available for

greenhouse gas sequestration, for example by afforestation.

3.5. Recycle emission revenues through equitable distribution to New

Zealanders, and through funding emission abatement.

4. Adaptation

Adaptation to our changing climate will be essential for the wellbeing and survival of

vulnerable communities, ecosystems and species. While central government action is

key to our international engagement and overall policy development, the Green Party

recognises that iwi, Local Government, communities, civil society and business will be

key partners in co-creating and implementing adaptation strategies.

A. Social Adaptation

Policy Positions

Government leadership, inclusive policy processes and support for the vulnerable is

essential to adapt our society to a changing climate. The Green Party recognises the

importance of social responsibility as a crucial principle in adaptation strategies.

4.1. Assist low income and other vulnerable sectors of society to adjust to the

resulting changes in the economy by a range of measures, including energy

efficiency, transport affordability and improvements in local authority

planning systems (see our Energy, Transport, Housing and Sustainable

Communities, Local Government, Food and Health policies).

4.2. Work in partnership with iwi to respond to the specific impacts on Māori

communities that rely on fisheries, shellfish and forests for food,

employment and tikanga practice.

4.3. Provide guidance to local authorities to identify the threats to vulnerable

people and communities, and develop inclusive plans to avoid social harm.

B. Environmental Adaptation

Climate change threatens the survival of many species and ecosystems.

Policy Positions

4.4. Fund research on the impacts of climate change on land, freshwater and

marine ecosystems.

4.5. Create, resource and implement strategies to protect ecosystems and

promote the survival of all species and ecosystems in Aotearoa New

Zealand (see our Conservation Policy).

4.6. Support mechanisms, such as the protection and restoration of ecological

corridors, to maintain and enhance the ability of indigenous species to

respond or adapt to climate change.

4.7. Research impacts on primary production arising from emissions and

climate change effects such as rainfall, pest abundance and ocean

acidification.

4.8. Provide guidance to local authorities and vulnerable industries, such as

primary industries, to plan long-term adaptation to sea level rises and other

predicted changes in climate, such as drought and floods.

4.9. Ensure that DoC and other Crown assets are managed in a manner that

supports ecosystem and species adaptation.

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 8

4.10. Apply the precautionary principle and rigorous analysis to any plan to apply

geo-engineering or other technologies to combat climate change.

C. Economic Adaptation and a Just Transition

There are many sectors of society that will be affected economically as Aotearoa

New Zealand moves to a net-zero emissions economy. It is essential that government

takes a planned and active approach to facilitating a Just Transition. The Green Party

recognises the interdependency of people and planet, and the need to live within the

limits of our natural world and to ensure equitable sharing of resources.

Policy Positions

4.11. Create a high-level process, involving government, iwi, and industry sector

and regional representatives to investigate and make recommendations on

how to manage the transition to a net-zero emission economy and the

adverse economic impacts of climate change.

4.12. Enable and support a shift in the economies of communities dependent on

fossil fuel extraction and use towards sustainable alternatives (see our

Mining Policy and Energy Policy).

4.13. Create a contestable fund for local government and community group

adaptation projects.

4.14. Ensure affected communities and working people are involved in decisionmaking

regarding economic adaptation.

4.15. Work with employers and unions to ensure adequate retraining, reskilling

and redeployment opportunities are available for people who work in highemissions

industries (see our Economic Policy).

D. International Adaptation

Poor and vulnerable communities around the world are already suffering the impacts

of climate change, especially indigenous peoples, those living in low lying areas and

our Pacific neighbours.

Policy Positions

4.16. Provide funding support, and enable the mobilisation of financing from a

variety of sources, for climate change mitigation and adaptation in

developing countries, towards meeting the international community’s global

climate finance commitment of US$100 billion per year by 2020.

4.17. Actively support Pacific nations to adapt to climate change as requested by

the Pacific (see our Global Affairs Policy).

4.18. Support Pacific nations’ proposals for loss and damage compensation.

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Climate Change Policy --- Reviewed: 2014 --- Version: 08 Jul 2020 9

4.19. Build international support for urgent action to prevent even worse impacts

to some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities and

environments.

4.20. Actively support Pacific states’ advocacy on climate change internationally

and, in particular, on raising security issues related to the future survival of

low lying island states in the UN Security Council.

2022

The climate change policy document released for the 2020 election was reviewed and modified on 7^th of December, 2022. An interesting revision to the 2020 policy in 2022 was the removal of the following statement: “Improve the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to ensure this drives a reduction in emissions, while urgently working towards the replacement of the ETS with an effective emissions levy.”

It can be viewed and downloaded from:

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/beachheroes/pages/9627/attachments/original/1670373285/Policy-Greens_Climate_Change_Policy_2022.pdf?1670373285

2013 Sustainable Business Policy

Sustainable Business Policy

Updated: 09-Nov-2013 Spokesperson: David Clendon MP

Introduction

In order for Aotearoa New Zealand to have an economy that is both economically viable and environmentally and socially sustainable, New Zealand businesses need be to be supported to adopt sustainability as a core value.

The Green Party believes that placing business operations within the framework of sustainability will improve the competitiveness and profitability of businesses by promoting efficient resource use and allowing businesses to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their processes. Such a framework will also encourage better capital investment decisions.

The Green Party supports a fair and just society where local producers, manufacturers, service providers and businesses are protected from unfair, foreign competition with products from countries with poor environmental and labour standards.

The Government makes many decisions in other policy areas that affect businesses. Also see our Economics, Industrial Relations, Trade & Foreign Investment, and Research, Science & Technology policies.

Definitions

Sustainable Business – A business that minimises its adverse impacts on the environment and society, and seeks to create positive and long lasting benefits.

Externalisation of Costs – when businesses and manufacturers emit pollutants, or fail to factor in the costs to society of producing throwaway or over-packaged goods and services, or fail to use existing recyclable options and thus place the burden of such costs onto government services, local governments and individuals.

Vision

The Green Party envisions an Aotearoa New Zealand in which businesses are locally celebrated, nationally valued and internationally renowned for their economically successful, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible practices. Confidence and creativity are high, and innovation is encouraged, recognised and rewarded. Staff and owners flourish in a co-operative productive environment. Those who make or provide the things that we use in our everyday lives are acknowledged and valued. The design of products and processes is driven by an understanding of and a commitment to the principles of sustainability.

Key Principles

In order to foster and support the development of economically successful, environmentally sustainable, socially responsible businesses, we need to:

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Support and educate businesses to adopt sustainability as a core value.
Seek to promote a fair competitive environment for NZ businesses that removes outright competition with products and services from countries with poor human and worker rights records and with poor environmental practices (see Trade policy).
Encourage public and private investment in sustainable businesses and support increased sustainable business practice through appropriate mechanisms.
Support the on-going development of sustainable, diverse and innovative industries in New Zealand to help supply domestic demand for socially useful goods.
Ensure an appropriate legal framework exists to support sustainable practices.
Promote recognition and pride in New Zealand manufacturing and service companies.
Ensure that businesses are accountable for including local concerns and resource constraints into their decision-making.
Make it easier for businesses to invest in appropriate technology and research, explore options for better access to capital for new businesses and make compliance easier, especially for small and medium enterprises.
Meet obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Policy Points

1. Supporting Sustainable Business Practice

A framework of sustainability enables business to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its processes and can allow for better capital decision making while improving the competitiveness of the business. It also provides an ongoing structure for strategic planning by helping identify areas of internal improvement and allows the business to look at external factors such as resource constraints, input pricing and other factors that will affect business performance. The success of the Qualmark programme in the tourism sector demonstrates how effective a quality framework can be as it has improved service, pride in work, and acceptance of education as an improvement tool.

A. Supporting Sustainability

To support sustainability in business practice the Green Party will:

Redesign the business support programmes provided through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and NZ Trade & Enterprise mandating sustainability as a key goal and auditing existing assistance and training programmes for effectiveness and relevance.
Provide support to, and encourage consumer demand for, businesses which adopt sustainable certification programmes.
Support local and regional economic development agencies to educate and advocate for sustainable best practice in business.
Require government-owned enterprises to adopt sustainable procurement practices.
Commit long-term support to the significant expansion and development of networks and organisations that promote sustainability in business practices.
Ensure appropriate funding of NGOs working to assist operational and

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behavioural change in the implementation of sustainability principles by businesses.

Encourage circular business relationships, where the outputs of one business are the inputs to another business, and engage in planning for the future siting of such businesses near/next to each other where appropriate and practical.
Support the adaptation of an internationally recognised Business Excellence Framework for New Zealand small businesses andprovide long-term support to enable small businesses to participate.

B. Encouraging Sustainable Purchasing Practices

When decisions are being made to purchase products and services for a business there is an opportunity to choose options with lower future costs, financially, socially, and environmentally.

The Green Party will:

Investigate changes to the tax system so preferential tax treatment is given to green technologies, low emission vehicles and other sustainable practices.
Promote the use of local, sustainably sourced products and services.

C. Educating About Sustainability

Achieving nationwide knowledge of what sustainability and a sustainable society means requires funding, education and application.

The Green Party will:

Promote the inclusion of sustainable practices in all relevant courses purchased by the Tertiary Education Commission.
Continue and increase funding for professional and business advisory bodies for sustainability education.
Support tertiary educational institutions as well as professional engineering and architectural companies and societies to consider sustainability as a key driver of product and service design.

D. Addressing Externalisation of Costs

In order to improve sustainability, the externalisation of costs by businesses needs to be addressed. However moving straight to a regulatory/legislative approach can be costly and counterproductive, especially if there is direct competition with overseas businesses that are not operating on a sustainable basis. At the same time businesses that externalise their costs, at the expense of the good players, jeopardise the reputation of the whole sector. If the sector faces unfair competition from imports then measures must be taken to ensure a level playing field (see section 2).

Until measures to ensure a level playing field are in place, the Green Party supports: 1. Taking a sector-based approach where appropriate by:

Working with the relevant sectors to identify the issue (for example waste management).
Supporting the formation of an industry grouping to create an industry accord for a solution to this issue.
Trialling the accord amongst the participants, monitoring for effectiveness and refining as necessary.
Legislating to make compliance with accords compulsory if required.

E. Investigating Clustering

For some sectors, clustering businesses geographically, and near appropriate transport options (coastal, railway) has the potential to increase transport-energy

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efficiency. Clustering can also facilitate innovation through cross-sector cooperation. However, clustering can also have adverse effects on communities. For example, increased load on local infrastructure and concentrated waste/pollution.

The Green Party will:

Fund urgent research into the environmental/social impacts of clustering.
Improve current funding and support delivered through MBIE by focusing on clustering that increases energy efficiency.
Support locating clusters near transport hubs (rail lines, ports etc).
Ensure local government plans avoid or mitigate the social and economic impacts of large-scale retail on existing small business.
Support mixed-use zones where business of an appropriate nature and scale, and residential living, can both be accommodated (see Housing policy).
Support local government facilitation of direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives for locally produced goods e.g. farmers markets, arts and craft shows etc. and investigate whether the two major supermarket groups can accommodate more locally produced agricultural and horticultural products.

2. Protecting Businesses from Unfair Competition

Under WTO rules, New Zealand businesses, particularly the manufacturing sector, face competition for state and domestic demand from imported goods and services. These imports often come from countries that have weak or non-existent employment standards and poor environmental, health and safety standards that allow them to manufacture goods or provide services at a much lower cost than New Zealand firms. Firms are increasingly outsourcing the manufacture of their products to countries that have lower labour costs and which are closer to foreign markets.

Currently, most regulation of imported goods occurs post market – that is action is only taken when a fault is found after the product is imported and sold. Often this means that consumers are not protected from poor quality or dangerous goods. To ensure better protection for New Zealand firms it is important we institute pre-market methods of regulation so that importers are required to show that their products meet minimum environmental, labour, and health and safety standards before being allowed to import.

Furthermore, Government spending accounts for approximately 40% of GDP so public sector spending decisions have significant revenue and investment implications for industry. The Government is prevented from automatically selecting New Zealand businesses by WTO rules. Instead, New Zealand businesses and manufacturers must compete with international suppliers for Government procurement contracts.

The likely impact of policies to combat climate change and the market response to increasing oil prices (peak oil) will be a significant increase in the cost of importing and exporting goods. Therefore, for the New Zealand economy to sustainably supply New Zealanders with the goods they need, both now and in the future, measures to protect domestic firms from unfair and unsustainable overseas competition need to be adopted.

The Green Party will:

Require mandatory country of origin labelling for all imported products.
Support and improve ways of communicating to the public on the value and importance of buying New Zealand made products.
Support mandatory product insurance for all imported manufactured goods.
Investigate other pre-market methods that will help address unfair competition.

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5. Support and strengthen Government and local government implementation of sustainable procurement practices, including a requirement that they actively consider competitive local suppliers where they exist, within the framework of New Zealand's international trade obligations (see Trade policy).

3. Supporting Innovation and Diversity: Research and Development

The barriers to using technology and investing in research & development are disproportionately high for small businesses. To encourage innovation in businesses and manufacturing the Green Party will:

Investigate tax breaks for spending on research and development that meet sustainability criteria in key target sectors including organics, information and communications technology, product and materials development, and sustainable energy.
Increase funding to Government research organisations (see Research, Science and Technology policy).
Support increased funding and better coordination for university enterprises.Require state-funded researchers to work with small businesses, either individually or on a sector basis, and to assist in improving the quality and levels of research and development.
Assist small businesses in finding appropriate partners to help in further development of new ideas and technologies or to solve problems with technology or lack thereof.
Investigate models to support small businesses exporting intellectual property and research and development expertise in sustainable energies, technologies and practices.
Support innovation by identification of new business opportunities in sustainability sectors/practices including promoting:
1. Strategies and advice for efficiency in, or replacement of, non-renewable resource use.
2. Efficient resource use through our Energy, Transport, Water, Waste, buy local etc. policies.
3. Retrofitting domestic and commercial buildings for energy efficiency.
4. Research and development of new energy systems, transport systems, housing materials, waste as raw materials (including sewage), community design, organic production, information systems and technology, infrastructure etc.
5. Research into and application of flexible employment and workplace opportunities.
6. Mentoring to assist inventors to find the best framework for them to utilise their inventions – DIY, license, sell etc.
7. Investigating a mechanism, possibly similar to the artist's model, for income support during the later stages of developing product or service models, software etc.

4. Creating a Legal Framework for Sustainable Practices

The current legal framework should more effectively recognize the multiple stakeholders in a business and the responsibilities of business to act in a manner that will support a sustainable society.

The Green Party will:
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Develop a Code of Corporate Responsibility for all corporations (foreign and domestic) operating in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Amend legislation to increase protection for adversely affected parties in situations where a business entity is liquidated, closed or unable to finance on- going responsibility for workmanship or products liability , for example by using compulsory insurance or bonds.
Support a full review and update of patent legislation, including what can be patented.
Keep a watching brief on rapidly changing technology to ensure continued applicability of new copyright and trademarks relative to existing options.

5. Making it Easier to Find and Keep the Right Staf

Businesses need an adequate supply of appropriately trained and motivated workers. Workers need a living wage and decent working conditions. Successful businesses treat their staff as valuable contributors, fundamental to their success. Up-skilling management is a recognised need in New Zealand.

The Green Party will:

Ensure appropriate funding/training subsidies for staff training focused on low- income workers and small businesses.
Promote life-long training and apprenticeships among employers and (potential) employees.
Raise the current cap on numbers of apprentices, particularly those that are spread across several small business employers instead of just one.
Support programmes to encourage businesses to employ highly skilled post- graduates for research and development.
Support the participation of businesses in employer of choice programmes.
Implement better retraining and workplace accommodation programmes to ensure that valuable skills and knowledge are not lost when workers suffer permanent injuries, and put in place safety programmes for industries with high rates of accidents or deaths.
Support the current work of member organisations in communicating the value of good employment practices.
Work with and support local economic development agencies to further improve coordination of local employment strategies including seasonal labour, accommodation affordability and locally relevant training.
Work with key sectors which have high casual employment (especially horticulture, viticulture, tourism and hospitality) to establish best practice for employment and safety.

10.Make it a statutory requirement for employers to appoint Union Learning Representatives to the workplace when requested by employees and ensure adequate resourcing is available to support the programme.

6. Supporting New Zealand's Manufacturing Base

The impacts of climate change and peak oil mean that it will become increasingly important that we make and repair as much as we can onshore in our own country.

The Green Party will:

1. Support the initiatives of manufacturers to work collaboratively to improve and transform the manufacturing sector in New Zealand.

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Ensure the interests of manufacturing are represented at Cabinet with a Minister whose portfolio includes responsibility for this sector.
Celebrate and support manufacturing success.
Encourage business-to-business local procurement practices.
Facilitate the development of best practice manufacturing through strong collaboration between manufacturers, CRIs, universities and specialist sustainable business organisations, encouraging local procurement and improving incentives to invest in sustainable technology, innovation and research and development.
Through school, tertiary, and public education improve New Zealanders' understanding of the key role manufacturing plays in our economy, and the attractiveness of manufacturing as a career option.

7. Supporting Small Businesses

Small businesses are a cornerstone of our economy with 440,000 New Zealand businesses (94%) having fewer than 10 employees. Despite their significance, small business interests are not generally well represented, compared to the needs of larger businesses. The Green Party recognises that providing a self- sustaining income with improved quality of life is a major motivator for many small business owners and that business growth/export focus should not be the only criteria for judging business success.

A. Making Compliance Easier

It costs small businesses more time and money, per employee, to comply with legislation than it costs large businesses. The Green party wants to make it easier for small businesses to meet their legal obligations.

The Green party will:

Continue promoting ways of simplifying and reducing compliance requirements for small businesses.
Support changes to the tax system to ensure that compliance becomes simpler over time.
Support the establishment of a website to provide a one-stop-shop of what businesses need to do to comply. The business.govt.nz website could be adapted for this purpose.
Work to ensure legislative change that affects small businesses comes into effect on only three days per year to create a more stable environment..
Support existing business information and support networks with a proven record of aiding business compliance.
Require government agencies that work with small businesses to follow best practice in customer query resolution, plain language communications and pro- actively work to support culturally diverse businesses.
Require Health and Safety to synchronise assessments and inspections with related agencies as much as possible, and to actively assist with businesses setting up their safety policies and have sector specific checklists on their website.
Ensure there is a centralised system for communications from government to business to notify changes.

B. Improving Access to Capital

For those small businesses that wish to grow, access to capital can be a major Authorised by Gwen Shaw, Level 2, 17 Garrett St, Wellington 7

inhibitor. The Green Party will:

Explore ways of increasing access to capital for small businesses, including providing tax deductions for investors.
Improve small business awareness of currently available angel investor opportunities.
Encourage people to invest in local business lending either directly or via local organisations set up for this purpose, thus increasing availability of funds for small businesses.
Support the expansion of local banking options (e.g. Building Societies, locally owned banks, 'network' organisations and micro-credit) and their provision of small business capital.
Institute a comprehensive capital gains tax (excluding the family home) to direct capital from speculation in housing into productive enterprise (see Economic policy).

C. Improving Training and Support

High quality, relevant training should be available to all small businesses. The Green party will:

Increase funding for training and mentoring programmes for people considering going into self-employment or small business as well as those already running their own business, with a particular focus on resourcing services provided by small business networks and community based organisations.
Increase funding for the Be Your Own Boss scheme so it is available to anyone starting a business for the first time and new migrants, rather than just those who have been unemployed for 6 months or more.
Have small business practice as an option across all degrees, diplomas and apprenticeships, especially where there is traditionally a high rate of self- employment (fine arts, medicine, trades, agriculture etc.).
Support sustainability training and information for small businesses through workshops, resources, and on-line assessment tools.

8. Community Ownership

The Green Party supports the development of cooperative, worker-owned and community-owned models of business ownership alongside the more traditional business models prevalent in New Zealand (see the Community Economic Development section of our Community & Voluntary Sector policy).

The Green Party will:

Improve access to grant funding and capital to organisations which support the development of cooperative, worker and community models of ownership, especially where these demonstrate commitment to broader principles of environmental and social sustainability.
Create a legally enabling environment and actively support ethical investment and community-owned financial institutions, group employment ventures, and consumer and worker cooperatives.

9. Support for Māori and Pasifika Businesses

Māori and Pasifika populations experience more socio-economic deprivation than other ethnic groups in New Zealand (as measured by joblessness, educational attainment and average income). The Māori population is also demographically younger than the general population. This means that over the medium term, Māori and Pasifika workers

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will comprise an increasing proportion of New Zealand's work force. The Green Party supports:

Initiatives to deliver in-work support.
Initiatives to support businesses in Māori and Pasifika communities.
Providing ongoing support for Māori and Pasifika service providers such as Te Wananga O Aotearoa to provide free or low cost small business training and to assist students to access start up capital for their ventures.
Encourage Māori and Pasifika business people to become business mentors in their communities, and support existing Māori and Pasifika business networks with a record or the potential for success in those communities.
Ensure that all government information on business compliance is available in Māori and key Pasifika languages.
Ensure the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs has the personnel and skills to ensure their people get the advice they need on government business support programmes.
Support intra-community lending initiatives for Māori and Pasifika businesses.

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2014 Economic Policy

Economic Policy – Smart, Resilient and Fair

Updated: 11-Aug-2014 Spokesperson: Russel Norman MP

Introduction

For millennia, a stable climate supporting a rich and diverse biosphere allowed humanity to develop societies and become prosperous.

In recent centuries, the extraordinary growth in human population and economic activity, supported by extraction of fossil fuels, has resulted, for the first time, in depletion of resources, production of waste, and emission of greenhouse gases beyond the environment's capacity to absorb it on a global scale.

We now risk irreversible degradation of the planet and its ability to support us and future generations. We hold our future and the future of the planet in our hands. In the 21st century, the global economy must respect planetary boundaries. Our economy is a set of social relationships within our physical world; it must achieve the same balance with its sustaining environment as the rest of Nature's living communities.

Fairness is an essential part of the economic transformation which we need, and an essential part of how that transformation can be achieved.

Vision

New Zealand sets a course for a sustainable future where human needs are met while respecting, protecting and replenishing the other life that shares the Earth with us. Where a stable climate, healthy ecosystems, and a thriving economy supports quality of life for all, and where each generation passes on our soil, air and water to the next in a healthier state than we inherited them.

A Green economy is a smart economy where technology and creativity combine to create more value from each unit of resource rather than to extract more and more resources. A Green economy is a compassionate economy where we measure success by whether we are creating a truly rich society. A Green economy is a resilient, flexible economy capable of adapting to new challenges, delivering meaningful work for our people and a healthier environment for us all.

Most of all a Green economy is a partnership between citizens, government, business, and communities. The urgency and the opportunity to create a fairer and more sustainable future has never been greater.

Economic Transformation

Economic transformation is at the core of Green economic policy: transformation in pricing, markets, planning, regulation, investment, consumption, trade, education,

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research and taxation. We need to make the shift away from exploitation of our environment to sustainability, from dependence on commodities to adding value through knowledge and innovation, and from producing more to producing and living better. In a Green economy, government takes its rightful role of looking after the long-term interests of citizens, but Government cannot do it alone.

In a Green economy, smart, ethical and responsive business has many opportunities to become involved in clean, productive economic activity. Businesses need support from customers to do this as well as support from Government to ensure all businesses face up to environmental and social costs rather than passing them on to others. So business cannot do it alone.

A Green economy is about a better quality of life, where people have time to be citizens as well as consumers, and where people can take responsibility for their choices and how they affect others, but it’s hard for people to realise their full potential in a highly unequal society where time feels increasingly scarce. So people cannot do it alone. Green economic transformation can be achieved only through a renewed spirit of collaboration between the government, business and civil society.

We will tackle unacceptable levels of inequality and environmental damage through reorienting taxation, regulating markets, bolstering environmental protection, investing in people and innovation, and strengthening education. We will ensure that a Green economy supports all New Zealanders, promotes gender and pay equity, recognises and values unpaid work, and provides a just distribution of our nation's wealth. Through Green transformation we will create a richer future for ourselves and for future generations.

Key Principles

The following principles guide the Green Party's approach to economic policy:

Ecological Sustainability: Economic activity occurs at a rate and at a scale that provides quality of life over generations, maintains the capacity of global and local ecosystems to sustain themselves, and protects valued natural environments. Climate stabilisation is an overarching policy goal that all policy needs to support.
Te Tiriti: Economic policy meets the Crown's obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and involves positive engagement and collaboration with the whānau and whenua-centred assumptions and practices of the Māori economy and the role of hapū as kaitiaki.
Efficiency: Economic policy seeks to get the most long term benefit from each resource and from resource use across society, enhancing productivity and minimising waste.
Sufficiency: Economic policy empowers all people to choose a level of material consumption that is sufficient and within ecosystem capacity at local, national and global levels.
Fiscal responsibility: Economic policy will ensure that the total (public and private) debt and international position of Aotearoa New Zealand are at sustainable levels so current and future generations are able to pay for infrastructure, goods and services.
Creativity: Economic policy needs to foster creativity, innovation and sustainable technology that reduces resource use and supports human well being.
Resilience: Economic policy should build the capacity of New Zealand's

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economy and our social networks to withstand and adapt to economic and ecological shocks.

8. Equity and Compassion: Basic material security and sufficient income for all, and a fair distribution of the economy's benefits and burdens, will lead to better outcomes for all members of our society, including gender and pay equity.

These principles are given effect through this policy and a wide range of other policies including Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Forestry, Housing and Sustainable Communities, Income Support, Industrial Relations, Research, Science and Technology, Sustainable Business, Tourism, Trade and Foreign Investment, Transport, Women's and Work and Employment.

Specific Policy Points

1. A smart, flexible and responsive New Zealand economy

New Zealand needs a flexible and responsive economy to deal with the many environmental and economic challenges of the 21st Century. To achieve this we need to maintain a level of economic diversity and capacity in the face of changing economic circumstances.

A. National level policies

To develop a strong New Zealand economy, the Green Party will:

Ensure the government develops a strategic economic vision for New Zealand, involving as many stakeholders as possible from all walks of New Zealand life; such a strategic economic vision will help businesses' longer term investment decisions and assist individuals in making career choices.
Strengthen the regulatory framework for the New Zealand economy through clear laws, regulations and accountable institutions that promote fair competition, transparency, environmental sustainability, social equity, and uphold the rights of workers, consumers and local communities.
Work with producer organisations, processors and marketing companies to strengthen the market positioning of New Zealand primary exports, including certification and labelling to reinforce brand values and raise the value of New Zealand exports, and, working with the tourism sector and exporters, invest in strengthening New Zealand's clean and green reputation internationally.
Support the development of sectoral plans, with producers, business, scientists and other stakeholders, to reduce the proportion of unprocessed commodities exported from New Zealand, generate new investment opportunities and create processing jobs.
Utilise government-owned companies and strengthen collaboration with the private sector in order to capitalise on the growing international market for clean and sustainable technology and knowledge intensive sectors, and build local capacity in these areas.
Establish a government-owned for-profit Green Investment Bank to act as an independent and expert facilitator of private sector capital, and which prioritises investment in the clean-technology sector.
Support New Zealand business through strategic government procurement policies that explicitly recognise the benefits of local sourcing (i.e. through support for jobs and other benefits to the local economy), and which will drive local clean technology development and sustainable manufacturing and services

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(see our Sustainable Business policy).

Require country of origin labelling for all products sold within New Zealand.
Ensure economic policies meet the needs of small and medium sized enterprises, and costs of compliance are proportionate to the scale and size of businesses.

10. Require international businesses with significant operations within New Zealand to:

Establish local subsidiaries that are incorporated within New Zealand, and encourage the development of joint ventures and other mechanisms to create a local ownership stake in activities.
Meet the same conditions for sustainable development that we expect of New Zealand companies.

11. Reform trade policies to ensure they support environmentally-sound production, human rights and the local economy, and help maintain a level of economic diversity and capacity in the face of changing economic circumstances (see our Trade and Foreign Investment Policy).

12. Ensure overseas investment in New Zealand meets much more stringent conditions in order to be approved (see our Trade and Foreign Investment policy).

B. Regional policies

The Green Party’s regional policies aim to build vibrant local economies across New Zealand, with support provided to facilitate clusters of expertise, economic activity and social enterprise in different regions. Regional bodies will be more empowered and better supported to identify key clusters of expertise and experience, working with schools and tertiary institutions, business, civil society and local government to build stronger local economies for the future.

The Green Party will support regional resilience by:

Ensuring regions facing growth pressures are supported to manage this in ways that promote sustainability and cohesion.
Working with local government to pursue a co-ordinated approach to infrastructure development to enhance the sustainable economic potential of New Zealand, including building capacity in the regions and promoting hubs of specialist economic activity.
Ensuring all regions have core transport, information, energy infrastructure, and health and education services available.
Enabling communities to organise sustainable infrastructure on a local basis.
Ensuring, to the extent practical, that critical services are not exposed to undue risk from concentration in one centre (e.g. data storage).
Attracting investment through building on regional assets and improving the attractiveness of the region as a place where investors want to live.

C. Community economic development

The Green Party supports the development of cooperative, worker-owned and community-owned models of business alongside the more traditional business models prevalent in New Zealand.

The Green Party will:

1. Improve access to both grant funding and capital for community enterprise, especially where these demonstrate commitment to broader principles of environmental and social sustainability.

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Create a legally enabling environment for, and actively support, ethical investment institutions, community and customer owned financial institutions, social enterprises, group employment ventures, and cooperatives.
Allow the development of local currency, exchange and time banking schemes.
Support a community economic development function within Government whose purposes will include:
1. Proactive support for community economic development initiatives at local, regional and national level.
2. Providing an enabling and nurturing environment for the social economy, including support for research, development and training.
3. Operating in a way congruent with the values of community based enterprises.

2. Stronger and more ethical businesses

The Green Party believes there is a tremendous opportunity for smart business to lead economic transformation. Achieving this requires clear signals and support from Government about direction and vision.

The Green Party will:

Introduce ethical investment guidelines for all Government investment funds and promote their adoption more widely.
Foster sustainable businesses, and in particular support Māori, Pasifika, women and disabled people in business (see our Sustainable Business policy).
Encourage the establishment of a more diverse range of business structures within the New Zealand economy through the provision of advice, access to finance, and clear, supportive legislative frameworks.
Develop a code of corporate responsibility (including social and environmental duties and sound corporate governance) applying to all corporations in New Zealand that must be met to secure government contracts; examine further ways to strengthen incentives for ethical and sustainable business practice.
Progressively develop and set quality and sustainability standards for goods and services (e.g. energy and recycling standards), which are produced and/or sold in Aotearoa New Zealand, and require that all goods and services meet those standards.
Strengthen consumer protection legislation and measures to support consumers exercising their rights at low cost.
Support effective accountability and management structures for New Zealand businesses, including encouraging greater diversity and gender equity in directorships, limiting excessive renumeration, and establishing clearer ethical duties for directors.
Support measures to develop management capacity and capability within New Zealand businesses, strengthen business mentoring at local level, including development of sustainable and ethical business practice.

3. Building the Māori Economy

The Green Party is committed to working with Tangata Whenua in order to remove barriers to the development of the Māori economy. Important issues include improving local economic development, gaining access to capital, having appropriate options for land ownership and administration, and upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations guaranteeing the exercise of tino rangatiratanga over Māori land and resources. See

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our Māori Issues policy for further details. The Green Party will:

Support and facilitate the development of the Māori economy, and ensure economic policies recognise the importance of whānau, whenua and kaitiakitanga to Māori economic development.
Remove barriers for Tangata Whenua to improve the administration of Māori land for their own benefit.
Ensure owners can access the capital and planning needed to facilitate the development of Māori land.
Review the Treaty settlement process to ensure it is delivering just and equitable outcomes (see our Te Tiriti o Waitangi policy).

4. Creating an equitable economy

Inequality in New Zealand has a detrimental effect on the performance of the economy as well as the wellbeing of our people. Government has a role in redistribution and also has an opportunity to transform our economic institutions so that greater equality is intrinsic to the way we develop.

Valuing all forms of work, while aiming to provide meaningful well paid work in sustainable enterprises for all who seek it, is a core task for economic policy.

The Green Party will:

Encourage organisations to develop policies to pay a ‘living wage’ and limit the ratio of highest to lowest pay rates within the organisation, and to procure from those businesses doing likewise.
Increase the minimum wage to a reasonable level and ensure this increases automatically in line with the average wage (see our Industrial Relations policy).
Encourage firms to share profitability with employees including through ownership stakes in companies.
Facilitate employee participation in ways appropriate to the organisation (e.g. through representation on boards in larger corporations).
Ensure that the social wage is maintained and enhanced, and economic policy supports diversity and social cohesion.
Introduce work and employment policies that support dignity and equity and facilitate sustainable, well-paid work (see our Work and Employment Policy).
Strengthen implementation of core labour rights, including union organising and collective bargaining (see our Industrial Relations policy).
Use government procurement policies to encourage the above measures.
Explore the introduction of a guaranteed minimum income for all people.

5. Strengthening material and energy efficiency

Efficiency is a key component of economic transformation. Ingenuity, research and technological innovation can often create equivalent goods and services using less energy and fewer materials, so that the resulting goods and services have a lower material and energy intensity per unit. The value of efficiency in promoting general productivity is well understood. Its potential to assist the transition to an ecologically sustainable economy is equally important.

Because efficiency is measured on a per unit basis its benefits in reducing environmental pressures can be undercut by an increased scale of production (individually cars become more fuel efficient but greater production of cars in a given period still causes rising fuel use and CO2 emissions). Reductions in energy and

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material intensities therefore need to be combined with a range of measures designed to secure the necessary reductions in our ecological impact - not just per unit of economic activity - but overall, in absolute terms. Within this wider policy context, efficiency plays a crucial role, and policy initiatives to exploit its indisputably large, untapped potential should be given high priority.

The Green Party will:

Pursue comprehensive measures to encourage more efficient use of energy and natural resources throughout the economy, including a supportive institutional and legal environment, funding for research, appropriate regulatory control and financial incentives, ecological tax reform, public education, and government leadership by example. Concrete applications of these strategies are found in other Green policies, in particular Energy, Environment, Transport and Research, Science and Technology.
Promote sustainable ("cradle to cradle") design in relation to manufactured products, the built environment, and services; encourage the redesign of industrial systems in which the by-products of one process are used as the inputs of another, for example converting wood waste from timber mills into biofuel (see our Environment and Sustainable Business policies).
Encourage efficient use of goods by encouraging direct person to person sharing of resources and wider development of "goods as services" models (such as shared public spaces, and hiring goods instead of owning them) for meeting people's needs.
Ensure that efficiency strategies are integrated into a comprehensive economic policy framework for achieving wellbeing within acknowledged ecological limits; continue to draw on rigorous scientific and technical advice to ensure a confident and robust evaluation of the role which efficiency can play in implementing these larger goals.

6. Smart public investment

A. General approach

Public investment has the ability to create new business opportunities and provide the certainty and scale needed for the development of new businesses and new business models. Smart public investment will include investment in clean sustainable energy systems and related technology, sustainable transport, housing and urban development, sustainable production and information systems, ecosystem restoration and carbon removal.

The Green Party supports the use of public investment which will effectively further the transition to a fair and sustainable economy. Relevant considerations will include:

Long term vision; government's ability to prioritise the future national interest over short term profitability.
Scale of the New Zealand economy; government assumes a relatively greater role in New Zealand given the small size of our economy and limited availability of private investment funds within this country.
Government's nation-wide perspective and responsibility towards communities throughout New Zealand; its ability to build capacity in the regions and promote hubs of specialist economic activity in collaboration with local government.
Research and development; government's ability to provide appropriate institutional structures and levels of funding (see our Research, Science and Technology policy).

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5. Ethical investment; government's potential to influence the private sector by demonstrating ethical investment principles.

B. Direct ownership

The Green Party believes that direct Government ownership (wholly or in part) of assets and enterprises is an important part of an integrated economic transformation strategy.

For the Green Party, relevant considerations in respect of direct ownership include whether:
1. Green policy objectives, including economic transformation objectives, can be achieved most effectively through public ownership.
2. Environmental or other externalities, risks to government, or insufficient competition in the sector, mean that ownership is desirable; this includes:
  1. The need to ensure universal access to essential services
  2. Protection of consumer interests by:
    
    1. Taking control of commercial activities which would otherwise be natural monopolies.
    
    2. Ensuring adequate competition by controlling one major player in an otherwise private sector.
  3. The benefit of exercising control in respect of industries for which government is the political or legal guarantor of last resort.
3. Economic conditions make this a practical option and mean that other priorities would not be adversely affected.
Investors in companies should bear the costs of business failure as a guiding principle. However, in keeping with the general approach above, the Green Party may consider a financial intervention (such as a bail-out in return for an equity stake) in private companies when it is in the national interest (e.g. strategic assets are at risk, such as essential services or key infrastructure), and provided there is a clear and transparent benefit to New Zealanders (e.g. a significant number of NZ jobs would be put at risk if there was no intervention), and provided that there are adequate controls in place to protect the investment and avoid the company making excess profits as a result.

7. Resource allocation

The Green Party’s overall approach to resource allocation centres on the need to sustain living systems, including human communities.

Economic policy should deal with ‘common’ resources held in public ownership by restricting the taking of non-renewable resources to rates that balance present and future needs, and allow for the development of more sustainable alternatives. Allocation within these limits needs to encourage the best option in terms of environmental impacts and productive outcomes.

The Green Party’s approach to resource allocation within Government will be guided by the following general approach:

Ensure that resource management and allocation contributes to a fair and sustainable economy (see our Environment, Energy, Conservation and Sea and Oceans policies).
Cap the amounts and rates of resource use and disposal in line with ecological and social limits to use and disposal, assessed on a precautionary basis.
Support citizens' entitlements to a sufficient flow of basic resources (such as

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water and energy) to meet human needs.

Support the public's right to a return that reflects true costs from the commercial use of public resources.
Ensure that environmental levies are supported by complementary policies that promote improved efficiency of use, waste reduction and the provision of renewable alternatives.
Ensure allocation of resources for commercial use embodies incentives to use resources to contribute to overall economic policy goals.

8. Measuring success

GDP is a measure of economic activity but an inadequate measure of the success or health of our economy. The Green Party's approach to measuring success within Government will be guided by the following general propositions:

Economic progress indicators must be grounded in a sustainability framework and measure overall wellbeing rather than just annual turnover.
Measures of wellbeing need to encompass the full range of human activities, including unpaid, voluntary and women's work.
Public reporting on economic progress should be conducted regularly and presented in a form that is accessible and easy to understand.

The Green Party will seek to implement the following specific policies within Government:

Enhance our national accounting system by:
1. Developing measures of sustainable national income, and measures of overall achievement and wellbeing.
2. Developing and regularly reviewing natural resource accounts to keep track of the state of resources such as soil, forests, fresh air, clean water and energy reserves.
3. Providing regular reports on the state of critical ecosystems.
Strengthen economy-environment modelling capacity within Statistics New Zealand and the data collection necessary to support this.
Establish a secure funding system for regular and independent State of the Environment reporting and Social Reports, supported by the development of indicators of ecosystem and social health.
Strengthen and resource environmental and social indicator reporting at local body level within a nationally consistent framework.
Require government reporting on its broader social and environmental performance, as well as financial performance, within the Public Finance Act framework.
Assist and encourage business to report on environmental performance and social responsibility as well as financial performance.

9. Financial services

The Green Party envisions a transparent, well regulated and accountable financial services sector that is fiscally prudent (to the extent that it does not impose costs on the taxpayer), and able to provide the capital needed to fund a stable, sustainable economy.

The Green Party’s approach to financial services within Government will aim to help create a financial services sector that:

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Provides the finance and services that citizens, business and government need.
Contributes to a stable economy and lends only what is sustainable for citizens, business and government to service.
Is financially sustainable, robust and takes into account the expected costs of financial risk.
Is answerable for the consequences of negative externalities that it imposes on the New Zealand community.

The Green Party will also seek to implement the following specific policies within Government:

A. Private saving

New Zealand has low levels of private savings outside housing, borrows significant funds from overseas, and is prone to boom and bust cycles in property values. The Green Party will seek to strengthen domestic savings and divert investment from speculation into productive uses.

Closing the capital gains tax loophole (see section 11C) will help promote a broader range of savings and investment, and strengthened New Zealand-owned banks (see sections 9C & D) will help to reduce our reliance on overseas borrowing. In addition, the Green Party will:

Amend the Kiwisaver scheme (in line with the recommendations of the Government Savings Working Group) to establish a single default 'public fund', which could be administered by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in order to reduce administration costs and provide transparent returns.
Make retail investing in government bonds easy and inexpensive by retailing them in small lots (e.g. through Kiwibank).
Strengthen the oversight and reporting for Kiwisaver schemes and superannuation schemes through the Financial Markets Authority.
Support a stronger culture of savings and long term productive investment.

B. Regulation

Good regulation will help ensure that people and businesses can access the finance they need without excessive risk of default. New Zealand's small and weakly regulated financial companies have periodically enticed savers and investors into high-risk investments. Misleading advertising, including celebrity endorsement, has reinforced this tendency. Over time, this has led to investor mistrust, under-investment in genuine productive investment, and over-investment in the property market.

The Green Party will ensure appropriate regulation of financial services and to this end support:

1. Regulation of the financial sector through the combination of the Reserve Bank and an adequately funded Financial Markets Authority to:

Ensure that derivatives and securitisation are fully regulated.
Require auditors to draw attention to instruments that they do not fully understand and to list them as unquantifiable risks.
Require that trustees and auditors ensure investments fit with the investment strategy and prospectus, and ensure that trustees monitor, report on and, if necessary, require canceling of related party transactions beyond legal limits (see point 9B.5).
Ensure rating of financial institutions is robust and all methodologies are subject to review and approval by the Reserve Bank or the Financial Markets Authority as appropriate.

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Regulation of the broader financial sector to ensure depositors are adequately informed of the risks they are taking and vulnerable depositors are not exploited, including regular publication of "Plain English" information on risks.
Mandatory guidelines for the advertising of financial products and services to protect vulnerable depositors and ensure full compliance with consumer legislation.
Appropriate controls on lending to ensure that people and businesses can get the financing they need without excessive risk of default.
Set restrictions on the size and scope of related party transactions, lending in particular, and require comprehensive reporting on them in the annual accounts and all prospectuses.
Regulatory measures which prioritise economic, and therefore social, stability.
Ensuring compliance costs for small and medium scale financial institutions such as credit unions are appropriate to their size and risk profile.
Regulation which, to the extent that is practical and consistent with our other principles, is consistent with the international regulatory environment, particularly Australia’s, but not necessarily the same.

C. General Banking

The Green Party supports:

The re-introduction of Depositors’ Guarantee Schemes for registered banks, funded by the licensed institutions, rather than the taxpayer.
The setting of capital adequacy ratios for all lending institutions.
The use of macro-prudential tools by the Reserve Bank, with appropriate safeguards.
Retaining the capitalisation requirements in the Reserve Bank Act, i.e. that they are NZ-registered companies and that they have secured local capitalisation.
Ring fencing retail operations from proprietary trading and ensuring that bank debts created by any trading behaviour cannot be drawn against ordinary depositor’s funds.
Development of a more diverse financial sector including measures to encourage New Zealand owned banks, credit unions and similar local initiatives.

D. Kiwibank

The Green Party will:

Retain New Zealand Government ownership of Kiwibank.
Support measures to strengthen Kiwibank to balance the foreign ownership of New Zealand’s other major banks, (e.g. allow Kiwibank to retain profits to strengthen its banking division and reduce reliance on wholesale financial markets).
Ensure Kiwibank adheres to the Equator Principles and other relevant social and environmental standards when making loans or investment decisions.
Retain Kiwibank’s goal of provision of reliable savings and other financial services to the people of New Zealand. It will not be allowed to engage in proprietary trading.
Support the development of Kiwibank’s capacity so they will be in a position to successfully tender for the Government’s banking contract.

10. Monetary policy

A succession of financial crises provides a reminder that the financial system is not Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett St, Wellington 11

always stable and is prone to breaking down unpredictably. The 21st Century started with highly volatile resource and food prices and we are likely to see an increase in frequency of shortages, price volatility and instability in global production.

The Green Party supports a broader and more balanced approach to monetary policy which reflects these complex influences on the New Zealand economy.

The Green Party's approach to monetary policy within Government will be guided by the following general propositions:

Monetary policy assists people and businesses to plan their lives with a degree of certainty.
Monetary policy contributes to the overall quality of life of New Zealanders and the sustainable development of New Zealand.

The Green Party will also seek to implement the following specific policies within Government:

Better coordination of monetary and fiscal policy, initially by adding a requirement to comment on how this co-ordination is occurring to both the Reserve Bank Act and the Public Finance Act.
An increased focus on the exchange rate and balance of payments, including using a range of tools to dampen volatility in the New Zealand dollar exchange rate or to influence it if it remains significantly over-valued or under-valued.
A comprehensive review of the conduct of monetary policy including consideration of:
1. Changes to the Reserve Bank Act to address:
  1. The way that the Bank considers inflation, employment and external balance of trade issues when setting monetary policy.
  2. The adoption of alternative targets for monetary policy (for example nominal national income rather than inflation).
  3. Use of a suite of monetary policy tools in conjunction with the Official Cash Rate.
2. Reviewing the role of complex financial instruments within the New Zealand economy and their impact on sustainable development, with a view to encouraging the financial sector to take responsible, long-term financial decisions and avoid excessive risk to economic stability.
Measures to limit future asset (especially house) price inflation such as:
1. Introducing a comprehensive capital gains tax exempting the family home (see section 11C below).
2. Reserving land ownership for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.
3. Significantly expanding the supply of ecologically sustainable affordable housing, including expanded public housing initiatives (see our Housing and Sustainable Communities policy).

11. Taxation

The Green Party envisages a tax system that supports communities and the environment, encouraging sustainable behaviour while providing sufficient revenue for the effective operation of Government.

The Green Party's approach to taxation policy within Government will be guided by the following general propositions:

• Taxes come from a broad base to avoid excessive reliance on income tax and in Authorised by Jon Field, Level 2, 17 Garrett St, Wellington 12

particular the tax base should include:

Personal and business income taxes that reward sustainable human

activity and enterprise.
Consumption and expenditure taxes that discourage wasteful use of

energy and resources.
Targeted environmental taxes designed to reduce and eliminate

behaviours that are not sustainable in a finite world.
Taxes that acknowledge the value of common property through resource

rentals, and which encourage long-term sustainable business practices.

Investment income from different sources is treated equally for tax purposes.
Tax policy contributes to the overall quality of life of New Zealanders and the sustainable development of New Zealand, and to this end:
- Productive and sustainable work and enterprise should be encouraged and speculative investment in non-productive assets should be discouraged.
- Taxes should be reallocated away from income and towards resource use, waste, and pollution.
- Resource rentals and related eco-taxes should be extended to promote more responsible management of the planet's finite resources.
- Those in society who have the least ability to pay tax should pay the least as a proportion of their income, while those who can pay more should do so and contribute to the welfare of society in this way.
- Concentration of income and wealth should be discouraged and the gap between rich and poor narrowed.
- New Zealand's local economy should be strengthened and foreign purchases of local assets should be limited.
- The tax system should be consistent, fair, transparent and simple, and avoid unintended consequences.
  
  The Green Party will also seek to implement the following specific policies within Government:
  
  A. Ecological taxes
  
  Ecological tax reform is a simple idea: shift taxes off work and enterprise, and onto waste, pollution and scarce resources. This Green tax shift will create a more sustainable economy, and it is happening now in many European countries.
  
  Ecological tax reform is a gradual process, and needs to be worked through with all concerned. The Green Party will:

1. Begin a process of ecological tax reform by setting up an Ecological Tax Commission. The commission will:

Look at all existing taxes and possible new eco-taxes – the Green Party's policy on specific taxes in the remainder of this document is conditional upon their re-evaluation as part of the ecological tax reform process.
Work to develop a broad consensus about the best way to use ecological tax reform to set the economy on a more sustainable course.
Identify ways in which the tax system can support the just distribution of resources and income.
Identify ways to make the tax and income support systems work together

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better.
e. Develop recommendations for Government.

B. Income tax

The Green Party supports income tax reductions to offset resource taxes, but will apply these to the bottom of the tax scale, not the top rate, so that everyone benefits. As part of progressive taxation reform, the Green Party will:

Introduce and progressively increase a tax-free threshold up to $10,000 at the bottom of the income tax scale, simplify rates in the middle bands of the tax scale, and increase the top rates of income tax.
Ensure beneficiaries receive the full advantages of any changes to income tax rates and adjust benefit abatement rates to address the problem of benefit abatement for those moving into employment (see our Income Support policy).

C. Capital gains tax

In order to help reduce distortions created by the tax system, the Green Party will:

Support the introduction of a comprehensive capital gains tax on inflation- adjusted capital gains at the time of realisation. Any capital gains tax must apply to assets in New Zealand that are purchased and sold by corporations or people living overseas as well as assets sold or purchased by residents.
Support an exemption for the family home from any capital gains tax.
Support treating taxable real capital gains as income for tax rate purposes, and investigate mechanisms to allow the income from capital gains to be spread over several years for New Zealand residents.

D. Goods and services tax

1. The Green Party supports a broad-based Goods and Services Tax within the context of a progressive tax system.

E. Financial Transactions Tax

1. The Green Party will involve New Zealand with the group of countries working to agree Financial Transaction Taxes, including on international currency movements. A very small tax on transactions would discourage currency speculation without having a significant impact on genuine trade or investment. In line with other countries, a portion of the proceeds could be earmarked to support developing countries with poverty reduction and climate change.

F. Company tax

1. The Green Party supports company tax as an integral component of New Zealand's tax system. Company tax provides a stable source of revenue and discourages tax avoidance by reducing the incentive upon taxpayers to use corporate structures to shelter income.

G. Global and domestic tax evasion and avoidance

The Green Party believes that all those who are liable for taxation should be required to pay their fair share and, in general, that income earned within New Zealand ought to be taxed within New Zealand. Tax avoidance and evasion are significant issues for many countries. Globally, different tax rules between countries can allow wealthy individuals and corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes in countries where economic activity is undertaken, including New Zealand. Equally, New Zealand has a responsibility to minimise the opportunities for people to use New Zealand legal structures to avoid taxation in other countries.

The Green Party will:
1. Ensure that tax is levied consistently on economic activity in New Zealand,

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loopholes and shelters are removed, and enforcement strengthened.

2. Give priority to greater international tax coordination, including greater transparency in international funds transfers, closing tax havens, controlling money laundering, and ending tax avoidance through transfer pricing.

12. Financing natural disaster recovery

The cost of the Canterbury earthquakes now exceeds $20 billion and is likely to rise further. The country's fiscal position has been weakened as a result, contributing to a credit downgrade and higher interest rates for homeowners.

The Green Party believes it is important to establish a financial policy framework for disasters of this scale so that the issues do not need to be debated afresh each time. The appropriate response will depend on the type of disaster, the state of the New Zealand and global economy, and the nature of other pressures on the Government. To this end, the Green Party:

Will seek to initiate a cross-party dialogue on the appropriate means of financing recovery from major natural disasters.
Believes that the appropriate response includes the use of the full range of fiscal and monetary tools available to Government, including a progressive temporary surcharge on income tax.
Will ensure that recovery financing supports and enhances the transition to a smart, fair and sustainable economy.

-----------------END------------------------

Climate Change

HIGHLIGHTS

Labour will:

•

Ensure a just transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy with decent and

secure jobs and, as a key to achieving ambitious emissions reduction targets, will

establish an independent Climate Commission and carbon budgeting

• Restore the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to putting an effective price on carbon, so that we move away from carbon-polluting goods and services towards low or zero-carbon options

•

Introduction

Climate change is the world’s most critical sustainability issue. It is occurring rapidly and is a severe threat to the planet and to the future of humans and other species. Record high temperatures are occurring every year and sea level is rising. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, the 2015 Paris Agreement committed the world to holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels. Climate action is also one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for the period to 2030.

Although the planet is already over halfway to a 2°C increase, the Paris commitment can be achieved through a rapid but just transition to a low-carbon economy.1 Crucially, fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. Carbon neutrality needs to be achieved worldwide in the second half of this century, with no more greenhouse gases being emitted to the atmosphere than are removed from it.

The disruption and hazards that climate change is bringing to New Zealand include changing rainfall patterns, more intense weather events, more frequent serious droughts, and coastal inundation. The environmental and economic costs are increasingly apparent. There are also major social and public health implications.

On a per capita basis, New Zealand is one of the developed world’s highest greenhouse gas emitters. A Labour government will make our country a leader in the international fight against climate change. To put our own house in order, we will have a comprehensive climate change response plan. Our mitigation and adaptation policies will of themselves improve people’s lives and enable them to live in sustainable ways. We will ensure a just transition away from an economy heavily reliant on fossil fuels to one based on clean energy and green technology. This transition will be supported by an effective price on greenhouse gas emissions.2

1 “Low-carbon” is a shorthand reference to reducing all greenhouse gases. In a typical developed country, the predominant gas is carbon dioxide; whereas in New Zealand there are two main gases, carbon dioxide and methane. Labour’s Energy policy focuses on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from energy generation and use.

2 Greenhouse gas emissions are also referred to in this policy as simply “emissions”. New Zealand’s emissions profile comprises 45% carbon dioxide, 43% methane, 10% nitrous oxide, and 2% synthetic gases. By sector, agriculture contributes 48% of our

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Make New Zealand a leader in the international fight against climate change, and

in ensuring that the 2015 Paris Agreement is successfully implemented

Taking a cross-party approach

Climate change is such a serious threat to the well-being of Kiwis as to justify a cross-party approach to deal with it. Labour will work with all those who recognise the urgent need for New Zealand to take action based on scientific evidence about the environmental, economic and social impacts of climate change – in order to achieve long-term, stable, and effective policies to combat it.

The potential of cross-party co-operation was demonstrated in March 2017 by the Net zero in New Zealand report on achieving neutrality in domestic GHG emissions. This was produced by Vivid Economics for GLOBE-NZ, a cross-party group of 35 MPs.

Labour will:

Work with all those who recognise the urgent need for New Zealand to take action to combat climate change
Initiate a non-partisan, cross-party, collaborative approach drawing on the best minds from every political party, the wider community, and specialists outside Parliament.

Ensuring a just transition to a sustainable low-carbon

economy

Our response to climate change will drive one of the most significant economic transformations in modern history. We must have a plan to address the challenges posed, and create new opportunities for our businesses and industry – and secure the jobs of the future.

Economic transitions can cause major economic and social disruption. They have too often been done poorly in New Zealand, with workers and communities bearing the brunt. It does not need to be that way. A transition can be made equitably to achieve positive outcomes for workers, enhance communities and create new areas of growth.

Labour will provide leadership for a just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy – one that maximises the benefits of climate action while minimising shocks and hardships for workers and their communities. The transition will take full advantage of New Zealand’s plentiful renewable resources and of existing and emerging technologies worldwide.

While climate change is a big challenge, it is also a big opportunity. The progressive uptake of low-carbon technologies will create jobs, strengthen local economies, and help us safeguard New Zealand’s future energy security. Low-carbon skills, goods and services are increasingly valuable in a world looking for solutions in areas such as renewable energy and lower agricultural emissions.

Proper planning will ensure a just transition is managed in a fair and just manner, where affected workers and communities are supported to find secure and decent jobs in the new low-carbon economy. In order that the necessary education and skills training occurs, there must be good workforce planning. This is critical for ensuring that individuals and communities are well-placed to benefit from the transition.

The transition to a low-carbon economy will need every sector of the economy to do as much as possible to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions – energy, transport, industry, agriculture, waste -urban and rural. This will include a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy,

emissions (mainly methane and nitrous oxide), energy and transport 40% (both mainly carbon dioxide), industry 7% (mainly carbon dioxide and synthetic gases), and waste 5% (mainly methane).

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support for public transport and alternatives to road freight such as rail and coastal shipping, a clear strategy for forestry, and the promotion of research and development into reducing emissions.

Co-benefits of reducing our emissions include lower imported oil costs, reduced fuel bills for our vehicles, better quality homes that are warmer and drier, more efficient industrial and agricultural production, and less nutrient and livestock pollution of our waterways.

Labour will:

Provide leadership to ensure a just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy
Implement a just transition plan, the development of which will be coordinated by the Climate Commission, and which will involve the whole of government and the community
Ensure that the plan optimises the economic development opportunities of a low- carbon economy, and provides the workforce with the skills training required to benefit from the opportunities
Lead by example through government investment in sectors such as transport and energy, and by requiring state-owned enterprises and other government organisations to actively pursue low-carbon options and technologies.

Establishing carbon budgeting and an independent Climate

Commission

New Zealand’s rising gross emissions have for some time been offset by carbon sequestered in plantation forests. However, many of these forests are due to be harvested in the next 10 to 15 years, creating a major liability for a 2020s government. Access to international emissions markets to meet the shortfall will become increasingly expensive as carbon prices rise.3

We must greatly reduce our domestic emissions, and plant more forests to absorb them, as a part of keeping green jobs at home and future-proofing our economy. Carbon budgeting enables the preparation of a clear and considered low-carbon transition plan to achieve our targets and de-risk our position.

As a key to achieving emissions reduction targets, Labour will establish an independent Climate Commission tasked with running the carbon budgeting process. The Commission would transparently provide advice to the government on significant but feasible emissions reduction targets and measures to achieve them. Carbon budgeting will put outcomes first – taking the targets, and then assessing the lowest cost options available to achieve them, and setting an overall plan for doing so.

A carbon budgeting process based on, for example, a five yearly budget cycle removes the short-term thinking of a three year electoral cycle. The process must be independent of the government of the day. Advice and recommendations must be able to be put in the public arena fearlessly and promptly, free of Ministerial or political influence or direction.

The Climate Commission would carry out carbon budgeting in tonnes of carbon, not dollars or New Zealand Emission Units (the locally generated carbon credits, known as NZUs). The

3 This shortfall is currently expected to cost New Zealand $14.2 billion over the 10 years from 2021–2030, based on an assumed carbon price of $50 per tonne. This cost is described by government officials as “a significant transfer of wealth overseas”. See Parliamentary Oral Question 4, 23 May 2017.

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Commission would detail the expected carbon flows, and practical actions and tools (such as the ETS) for reducing them. The carbon budgeting process would allow for integrated planning that does not silo climate change away from energy, transport, forestry and other relevant policy areas.

The Climate Commission would work with stakeholders across all relevant sectors to explore options and their costs, and develop sector plans that feed into an overall carbon budget and low-carbon transition plan – and would then present the government with a clear pathway forward.

Labour will:

Set ambitious, and legally binding, emissions reduction targets and carbon budgets
Legislate to establish a Climate Commission –akin in independence to the Reserve

Bank or the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE)
Empower the Climate Commission to recommend what the emissions reduction

targets should be over time, and identify the financial and other consequences of

achieving them or not
Mandate the Climate Commission to set up and run a carbon budgeting process for

achieving the emissions reduction targets and coordinating development of a just

transition plan
Adopt carbon budgets and a just transition plan that will deliver on the emissions

reduction targets, with the Climate Commission tracking and reviewing the targets and the effectiveness of the plan and its sectoral parts.

Labour has been advocating for carbon budgeting and an independent Climate Commission since 2014. Our proposals are similar to what Generation Zero and many other NGOs are calling for, and also similar to recent recommendations from the PCE.4

Emissions reduction targets

While Labour will be guided by the Climate Commission on what New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets should be, we would want more ambitious ones than National has set.5

Labour will set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Interim targets to this one will be set according to the recommendations of the Climate Commission to ensure we can achieve the 2050 target. Achieving the targets will require technological developments in the energy and agriculture sectors, coupled with a more diversified pattern of land use including increased forestry.

Labour will:

Set a legally binding target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Set interim reduction targets based on recommendations of the Climate Commission

in order to achieve our 2050 target.

4 PCE, Stepping Stones to Paris and beyond, Climate change, progress, and predictability, July 2017.

5 Under the Paris Agreement, New Zealand through the National government has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, a target equivalent to an 11% reduction below 1990 levels. For 2050, National’s target is a 50% reduction below 1990 levels. These targets compare (later) net emissions to (earlier) gross, so the 2030 target does not actually reduce net emissions from their current (2015) levels. The 2050 target would reduce net emissions by 43% from their current levels or 6% of 1990 levels. The EU has committed to a reduction of at least 40% below 1990 emissions levels by 2030, and an 80–95% reduction by 2050. A net zero emissions target would mean a 100% reduction in net carbon emissions by 2050.

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Work by Vivid Economics has shown that a net zero 2050 target is achievable if we invest in forestry and new technologies. It is likely our reduction targets will achieve faster reductions of long-lasting gasses such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide before those with a shorter lifetime such as methane. Our interim targets are likely to be set in comparison to 1990 emission levels in line with international reporting.

Restoring the Emissions Trading Scheme

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme introduced by Labour in 2008 was, by international standards, advanced. It included all gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol and was to encompass every sector of the economy. The ETS charged polluters for increases in emissions and rewarded those who cut emissions.

National gutted the ETS, rendering it ineffectual. This included putting a price ceiling on carbon but no floor, halving the amount of emission units that must be paid for (being phased out by 2019), and indefinitely deferring the inclusion of agriculture. And National cynically allowed an influx of cheap, imported, essentially fraudulent international emission units that collapsed the price of the local emission unit, the NZU.

Labour is committed to achieving a lasting consensus among New Zealand’s main political parties on an ETS. The architecture of the ETS is still intact and it can be readily restored to being fully effective. This includes an orderly phase-in of carbon prices to their optimal level, avoiding undue price fluctuations, and building long-term confidence in the ETS especially with foresters.

Free NZU allocations should continue for emissions-intensive and trade-exposed (EITE) activities, such as steel and aluminium, on the basis that there is no point in driving such industries offshore to produce the same or more emissions elsewhere.

Labour will:

Restore the ETS so that it does what it was intended to do – put a price on carbon that drives behaviour change away from carbon-polluting goods and services towards low or zero-carbon options
Not allow the importation of international units until it is clear that they have environmental integrity, are from a reputable source and a mature international market, and are realistically priced; and for the foreseeable future will manage access to any such units through direct acquisition by the government
Require at least 50% of all units surrendered to meet obligations under the ETS to be NZUs
Bring agriculture within the Emissions Trading Scheme within our first term with a free allocation of 90%
Promote confidence in the ETS by having the Climate Commission, or the Ministry for the Environment, provide ongoing guidance about anticipated future carbon prices, including on a price band with ceiling and floor; and advice on what if any changes should be made to free allocation for agriculture and EITE activities
Be open to a science-led discussion as to how New Zealand, in accounting for its overall greenhouse gas emissions, should differentiate between short-lived gases such as methane compared with long-lived gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

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Agriculture

At 48% of the total, agricultural gases are the country’s largest source of emissions. While addressing this is challenging, failing to do so will increasingly put at risk our international reputation for sustainability and responsibility. Farmers in particular will become vulnerable to reputational damage. Including agricultural gases in the ETS will encourage innovation and ensure that these emissions are properly considered in plans for intensification or de- intensification, or other land use choices that cause or limit emissions.

Emissions per unit of livestock production have decreased due to better productivity per animal and more efficient farming systems. Further significant decreases are achievable and the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Reduction Consortium is working on techniques for delivering these.

Having agriculture in the ETS will encourage consideration of the role that different biological processes and production systems – e.g. based on organics, or alternative herbage systems, or horticulture rather than livestock – can play in creating greater value and reducing emissions.

The default point of obligation will be at processor level, with an ability to opt-in at farm level where practicable. This would recognise those farmers who want to accurately measure their own carbon inputs and outputs, including pasture, soil carbon, farm forestry, fertiliser, and ruminant emissions.

Labour will:

Follow best international science and practice on reducing agricultural emissions
Explore the potential of different land-use choices, biological processes and

production systems for both reducing emissions and being profitable
Investigate how best to measure and take account of the carbon cycle, between land

and the atmosphere, as it relates to agriculture
Ensure that farmers operating at best practice are recognised and advantaged, for

example by being able to have their point of obligation for emissions measured at farm level where practicable, so they can be directly credited for emissions reductions they achieve.

See also “Carbon farming” under Promoting research and development below. Keeping climate change central to government thinking

Some issues are considered to be of such cross-government importance that there is a standing requirement for Cabinet policy papers on any topic to report on the implications for issues such as human rights, gender, and disability. Given the existential threat that climate change presents, it should be added to this list.

Policy papers where climate change implications would be relevant include those about transport, energy and urban planning. If, for example, there were a proposal for a major roading or public transport project, the implications for climate change mitigation would be reported on.

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New Zealand Labour Party Manifesto 2017

Labour will:

Put climate change mitigation and adaptation at the forefront of government decision- making, funding allocation, and reporting
Require climate change implications to be reported on in Cabinet papers, other appropriate policy papers, and accompanying regulatory impact statements
Establish a Youth Climate Change Challenge. Young people from Year 7 on will be able to participate in projects to tackle emissions in their communities. Each year, the children with the best ideas will be invited to meet the Prime Minister to discuss climate change.

Promoting research and development

There are significant opportunities for New Zealand from research and development into emissions reduction and low-carbon technologies, especially in sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. We already have world-leading expertise in geothermal, hydro and wind.

It would be beneficial to establish a Transitions National Science Challenge to consider the science, research and development required for the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Challenge would involve industry training providers, so that necessary skills are developed in tandem with new technologies and opportunities.

Labour will:

Support more research into ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in sectors where significant reductions in emissions are currently challenging, such as agriculture
Work with the research community to further develop and consolidate capability in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies, including innovative solutions to reduce emissions from transport and stationary energy
Seek to develop New Zealand expertise in marine generation and deep geothermal
Work to ensure that New Zealand gets maximum value from its existing and

developing expertise in renewable energy and clean technology, with this expertise

being productively applied here at home and exported around the world
Establish a Transitions National Science Challenge to consider the science, research

and development required for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Carbon farming” is a biological process that aims to store more carbon in soils through no- tillage and other techniques. Such sequestration of carbon provides a huge potential opportunity for carbon storage. This “soil first” approach is said to also lead to better soil health and resilience, higher plant growth and productivity, and reduced siltation and nutrient pollution of waterways. If research can resolve issues such as measurement and verification, sequestration of carbon in soil should be included in the ETS.

Labour will:

• Promote research on the potential of carbon farming to sequester carbon in soil, and on how this could be included in the ETS and carbon farming developed.

Achieving the potential of forestry

As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as wood (with forests sometimes being referred to as “carbon sinks”). When forests are felled, that carbon is

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New Zealand Labour Party Manifesto 2017

released. Forestry is rewarded under the ETS because it has a big role in helping New Zealand reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions. Forestry can also provide feedstock for biofuels.

In order to achieve the full potential of forestry as a carbon sink, we need a clear strategy for it. At least a million hectares of marginal agricultural land has the potential to revert to shrubland and native forest. More pine or other exotic plantation could also be established, which if replanted upon harvesting would keep carbon stored.

Initiatives to encourage the planting of forests include the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI) which enables land owners to receive carbon credits for the creation of permanent forests, including naturally regenerating indigenous forests. We need to ensure that the initiatives are working optimally. Trees vary in their ability to capture and store carbon. There are also biodiversity issues to consider when determining the optimal mix of planting.

An area to investigate is whether carbon credits should be made available to the Department of Conservation under the PFSI for increased carbon storage in its indigenous forests resulting from comprehensive pest control. Riparian planting may also provide opportunities.

Labour will:

Ensure that there is a clear strategy for forestry as a carbon sink
Encourage increased forest cover, underpinned by long-term confidence in a restored

and effective ETS
Encourage landowners to plant forests as carbon sinks, particularly on marginal or

vulnerable land,and provide incentives and information on suitable trees to plant
Review the PFSI to ensure its optimal performance, including for the planting or

enhancement of indigenous forest that will not be harvested, and in opportunities for

riparian planting to qualify for carbon credits
Work to maximise the biofuels potential of forestry.

See also Labour’s Forestry policy.
Complementing the ETS with other measures

While pricing greenhouse gas emissions properly through the ETS is essential for a just transition to a low-carbon economy, it is not the only measure available. Complementary measures already mentioned are: a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy; support for public transport and alternatives to road freight such as rail and coastal shipping; a clear strategy for forestry; and the promotion of research and development into reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional complementary measures and nationwide targets that Labour will pursue include:
- recognising the crucial role that smarter, greener cities will play in decarbonisation of the economy, given our predominantly urban population
- promoting city living that is far less car dependent (more walking, cycling and public transport) and with better and less energy-intensive buildings (both residential and commercial), all of which will make our cities more attractive places to live in
  
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New Zealand Labour Party Manifesto 2017

at least 90% of our electricity coming from renewable sources by 2025, with close to 100% being renewably generated by 20406
adding climate change mitigation and emissions reduction, and energy efficiency, to the objectives of the Electricity Authority
slashing transport emissions through fuel efficiency standards for imported vehicles, a substantial uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) both light and heavy, and alternative fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen
promoting clean industrial heat and a move away from the use of thermal coal. See Labour’s Energy, Transport and Housing policies for more detail.

Honouring our international obligations

Labour is committed to the goals and principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. But the Paris Agreement itself is only a beginning. Strong, committed and consistent international leadership and action will be required to ensure the Agreement’s successful implementation. New Zealand will play its full part in this, and not merely be a “fast follower” as the current government has wanted to be.

The decision of the United States administration to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is unlikely to stop the international impetus to make it succeed. Climate action and the clean energy revolution will continue – with the EU, China and other countries taking the political lead.

As articulated by the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine, climate change is contributing to the global burden of disease and premature death; and will almost certainly lead to food and water shortages, increased mental health issues, more injury and illness, and more heat-related deaths and illness from extreme weather.

A particular climate action obligation for New Zealand lies with the severe public health impacts of climate change within low-lying areas of the Pacific region.

Labour will:

Seek to play a leading role in international climate change negotiations and action that builds on the Paris Agreement
Support our Pacific neighbours and other developing countries in their efforts to adapt to climate change.

Adapting to a changing climate

Even with meaningful climate action, there are still some unavoidable consequences of climate change that we need to adapt to, especially inundation and flooding risks. The impacts can be lessened with forethought, good information, and careful planning. But leaving the adaptation burden entirely to local authorities would result in piecemeal planning and decision-making.

6 “Close to” is possible, noting that geothermal releases some carbon dioxide during brine extraction, and that some thermal back-up may be necessary (although this could be biomass) to meet peak seasonal demand, especially in dry hydro years.

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New Zealand Labour Party Manifesto 2017

Central government has the capacity to assess which regions face the greatest or most urgent risks, to provide reliable and up-to-date information for local authorities to take into account in their infrastructure and planning decisions, and to lay out the range of options available to help communities adapt to changing climate.

Labour will:

Ensure high quality central government direction and guidance on sea level rise and other consequences of changing climate, so that a consistent approach is taken throughout the country, albeit adapted to local circumstances
Establish, under the leadership of the Minister of Finance, a working group to assess and prepare for the economic and fiscal implications of sea level rise
Assess and plan for the risks of changing climate on health, agriculture, food security, water security, property, insurance, public infrastructure, and daily life
Lead a climate change adaptation management plan in close cooperation with local government, the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors, Māori and other stakeholders
Provide a fund to enable local and regional bodies to collaborate in researching, prioritising, and planning mitigation of extreme weather effects resulting from new weather patterns caused by climate change
Devise best practice response and communication strategies for extreme events that enable authorities to decide which actions will achieve the most life and property sustaining outcomes
Commence an urban redevelopment and adaptation programme, with a focus on South Dunedin and other urban communities subject to sea level rise – working with those communities, their local authorities and other stakeholders.

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Wednesday 22 February 2023

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