Climate change in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Climate change
in New Zealand, in the sense of anthropogenic global warming
during the 20th century, is apparent in the instrumental record, in New Zealand's participation in international treaties and in social and political debates. Climate change is being responded to in a variety of ways by civil society and the government of New Zealand. An emissions trading scheme
has been established and from 1 July 2010, the energy and liquid fossil fuel sectors have obligations to report emissions and to obtain and surrender emissions units (carbon credits).
A significant upward trend in national average air temperature was detected of 0.11°C per decade (for the period from 1896 to 1994) with a 95% confidence interval ± 0.035°C. This is roughly twice the trend reported for global data, which may be due to the relative absence of sulfate aerosols in the South Pacific.
The Royal Society of New Zealand's statement on climate change notes that between 1908 and 2006, there has been a clear upward linear trend in the country-wide average air temperature of 0.9°Celsius.
similar to the Keeling Curve
. In 1970, Charles Keeling
asked David Lowe, a physics graduate from Victoria University of Wellington
to establish continuous atmospheric measurements at a New Zealand site. The south-facing Baring Head
, on the eastern entrance to Wellington Harbour
, was chosen as being representative of the atmosphere of the southern hemisphere. Lowe initially built an automatic air-sampling machine using parts from a used telephone exchange.
Modelled wind directions indicated that air flows were originating from 55 degrees south. The Baring Head data shows about the same overall rate of increase in CO2 as the measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory
, but with a smaller seasonal variation. The Baring Head CO2 concentrations have increased by 50 parts per million between first records in the early 1970s and 2005. The rate of increase in 2005 was 2.5 parts per million per year. The Baring Head record is the longest continuous record of atmospheric CO2 in the Southern Hemisphere and it featured in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 in conjunction with the better-known Mauna Loa record.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
has also recorded atmospheric concentrations of methane (from 1989) and nitrous oxide (from 1997) at Baring Head.
has been using aerial surveys of late summer snowline to estimate the mass balance
of 50 index glaciers. The snowline marks the equilibrium line of a glacier; above the line the glacier is accumulating snow and below the line the glacier is melting. The mass balance is the net gain or loss of snow and ice.
The latest survey, in 2009, indicated two years of decline in the overall mass of the index glaciers. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research considers that the volume of ice in New Zealand's glaciers
has declined by about 50% in the last century, while New Zealand’s average temperature increased by about 1 °Celsius.
New Zealand's largest glacier, the Tasman Glacier
has retreated about 180 metres a year on average since the 1990s and the glacier's terminal lake, Tasman Lake
, is expanding at the expense of the glacier. Massey University scientists expect that Lake Tasman will stabilise at a maximum size in about 10 to 19 years, and eventually the Tasman Glacier will disappear completely. In 1973 the Tasman Glacier had no terminal lake and by 2008 Tasman Lake was 7 km long, 2 km wide and 245m deep.
of 1.6 mm a year for the 100 years to 2000, which is considered to be relatively consistent with other regional and global sea level rise calculations when corrected for glacial-isostatic effects. One global average rate of sea-level rise is 1.7 ± 0.3 mm per year for the 20th century (Church and White (2006). Another global average rate of sea-level rise is 1.8 mm/yr ± 0.1 for the period 1880–1980.
A 2008 study of cores from salt-marshes near Pounawea
indicated that the rate of sea level rise in the 20th century, 2.8 ± 0.5 mm per year, had been greater than rate of change in earlier centuries (0.3 ± 0.3 mm per year from AD 1500 to AD 1900) and that the 20th century sea level rise was consistent with instrumental measurements recorded since 1924.
(the UNFCCC) in September 1993.
New Zealand signed the Kyoto Protocol
to the UNFCCC on 22 May 1998 and ratified it on 19 December 2002. As an Annex B party, New Zealand has a responsibility target to limit greenhouse gas emissions for the five-year 2008-2012 commitment period (CP1) to five times the 1990 volume. New Zealand may meet this target by either reducing emissions or by obtaining carbon credits from the international market or from domestic carbon sinks. The credits may be any of the Kyoto units; Assigned amount units
(AAU), removal units (RMU), Emission Reduction Unit
s (ERU) and Certified Emission Reduction
(CER) units.
New Zealand's responsibility target is expressed as an “assigned amount” of allowed emissions over the 2008-2012 commitment period. The allowed emissions are divided into tradeable Assigned amount units
(AAUs) and each Annex I Party issues to itself Assigned amount units
(denominated as 1 metric tonne of equivalent) up to its "assigned amount" under Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2007, New Zealand's 309,564,733 Assigned amount units
were recorded in the NZ Emission Unit Register.
In June 2005, a financial liability under the Kyoto Protocol for a shortfall of emission units of 36.2 million tonnes of -e was first recognised in the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand. It was estimated as a liability of $NZ310 million.
According to estimates from the International Energy Association, New Zealand's per capita carbon dioxide emissions roughly doubled from 1970 to 2000 and then exceeded the per capita carbon dioxide emissions of both the United Kingdom and the European Union.
In 2005, New Zealand’s per capita emissions of the six greenhouse gases were 18.5 tonnes CO2 equivalents per head of population. New Zealand GHG emissions were 12th highest in the world per capita. The Ministry for the Environment's 2007 State of the Environment report noted that New Zealand's per capita GHG emissions were high and were exceeded in the OECD only by countries such as Australia and Canada. Bertram and Terry (2010, p 164) state that on a per capita basis, New Zealand's GHG emissions are unambiguously a significant contribution.
From 1990 to 2007, total greenhouse gas
emissions in New Zealand increased by 22.1%. Emission increases by sector were - agriculture; 12.1%, energy; 39.2%, industry; 35.0%. Only the small waste sector reduced emissions, by 25.3%.
N2O emissions originate from animal excrement and from the use of nitrogenous fertiliser. Livestock produce methane
from rumination. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide as it can trap twenty times the heat of an equivalent volume of carbon dioxide. Since New Zealand has large stock numbers these emissions are significant. In 2003, the Government proposed an Agricultural emissions research levy to fund research into reducing ruminant emissions. The proposal, popularly called a "fart tax", was strongly opposed by Federated Farmers and was later abandoned. The Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network
(LEARN) was launched in 2007 to address livestock emissions. The Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium
between the New Zealand government and industry groups seeks to reduce agricultural emissions through the funding of research.
At the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
in Copenhagen, the New Zealand government announced the formation of the Global Research Alliance involving 20 other countries. New Zealand will contribute NZ$45 million over four years towards research on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
was to implement a carbon tax
in 2007. The proposed carbon tax would apply to the whole economy, except for emissions of agricultural methane and nitrous oxide. The tax would initially be $15 per tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent, based on approximating the international price of emissions. It would be capped at $25 per tonne. The carbon tax policy was intended to be precursor to emissions trading when it became internationally established.
However, in December 2005, the Government announced that following a review of climate change policy it would not implement the proposed carbon tax. The political parties New Zealand First
and United Future, who were support parties of the Labour-led Government, opposed the tax.
The Green Party described the withdrawal the carbon tax as 'giving up on climate change' and 'capitulating' to the Anti-Kyoto lobby.
The Environmental Defence Society described the withdrawal of the carbon tax as "pathetic" and a result of the NZ Government Climate Change Office being 'captured' by vested interests such as energy intensive businesses and the Greenhouse Policy Coalition.
es uncapped emissions trading scheme first legislated
in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand
and amended in November 2009 by the Fifth National Government of New Zealand
.
Although the NZ ETS is 'all-sectors', individual sectors of the economy have different 'entry dates' when their obligations to report emissions and surrender emission units have effect. Forestry entered on 1 January 2008. Stationary energy, industrial processes and liquid fossil fuel emissions enter the NZ ETS on 1 July 2010. Agriculture does not enter the scheme until 1 January 2015.
Tradable emission units will be issued by free allocation to emitters, with no auctions in the short term. The fishing sector, which does not have a direct obligation under the NZ ETS, will receive free units on a historic basis, 90 per cent of their 2005 emissions (bullet points 9 & 10 MfE Sept 2009). Pre-1990 forests will receive a fixed free allocation of 60 emissions units per hectare. Allocation to emissions-intensive industry, and agriculture will be provided on an output-intensity basis. Output-based allocation will be based on the industry average emissions per unit of output and will be uncapped. Bertram and Terry (2010, p 16 ) state that as there is no 'cap' on emissions, the NZ ETS is not a cap and trade scheme as understood in the economics literature.
A transition period will operate from 1 July 2010 until 31 December 2012. During this period the price of New Zealand Emissions Units (NZUs) will be capped at NZ$25. Also, one unit will only need to be surrendered for every two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, effectively reducing the cost of emissions to NZ$12.50 per tonne (MfE 2009, second bullet point).
Section 3 of the Climate Change Response Act 2002
(the Act) defines the purpose of the Act as to reduce emissions from business-as-usual-levels and to fulfill New Zealand's international obligations under the United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol
. Some stakeholders have criticized the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme for its generous free allocations of emission units and the lack of a carbon price signal (the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
), and being ineffective in reducing emissions (Greenpeace NZ).
had committed itself to addressing climate change and had declared a goal for New Zealand of carbon neutrality. To achieve this, two objectives were set: generating 90 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025; and, halving per capita transport emissions by 2040. The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill was introduced into Parliament by the Fifth Labour Government on December 4, 2007. On 10 September 2008, the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008
had its third reading in Parliament and was adopted 63 votes to 57 with support from the Green Party
and New Zealand First
.
For the 2008 election, the policy of the National Party
was to honour New Zealand's Kyoto Protocol obligations and to set a goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The Labour ETS
would be amended by 1 January 2010 to better balance environmental and economic concerns, and to make it fiscally neutral, flexible, aligned with the Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and not disadvantageous to consumers and small business.
The Green Party
support lowering carbon emissions, exposing the economy to the externalities
of carbon emissions and using income from a carbon tax
to achieve a low carbon economy and to protect those on low incomes from the economic consequences of climate change.
The ACT Party went into the 2008 election with a policy that in part stated "New Zealand is not warming" and that their policy goal was to ensure "That no New Zealand government will ever impose needless and unjustified taxation or regulation on its citizens in a misguided attempt to reduce global warming or become a world leader in carbon neutrality" In September 2008, ACT Party Leader Rodney Hide
stated "that the entire climate change - global warming hypothesis is a hoax, that the data and the hypothesis do not hold together, that Al Gore is a phoney and a fraud on this issue, and that the emissions trading scheme is a worldwide scam and swindle".
Forest and Bird
, New Zealand's largest conservation organisation, campaigns on climate change by increasing public awareness. Climate has an effect on ecosystems and therefore on species. New Zealand has a number of endangered species that may be affected by climate change.
The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition
has the goal of refuting what it believes are unfounded claims about anthropogenic global warming. It was formed in May 2006 by Vincent Gray
and Augie Auer
among others. In August 2010, the Coalition announced it had commenced legal action against the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
(NIWA), asking the High Court
to invalidate its official temperature record, to prevent it using the temperature record when advising Government and to require NIWA to produce a "full and accurate" temperature record.
The Greenhouse Policy Coalition, describes itself as representing the energy-intensive sector (aluminium, steel, forestry, coal, dairy processing and gas sectors). It was set up in 1996 to allow the New Zealand business sector to grow and to be profitable and sustainable. The Coalition accepts anthropogenic climate change and sees a need for public policy
to mitigate its effects, as long as that policy is 'moderate and measured'.
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
in New Zealand, in the sense of anthropogenic global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
during the 20th century, is apparent in the instrumental record, in New Zealand's participation in international treaties and in social and political debates. Climate change is being responded to in a variety of ways by civil society and the government of New Zealand. An emissions trading scheme
New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme is a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases all-free allocation uncapped emissions trading scheme...
has been established and from 1 July 2010, the energy and liquid fossil fuel sectors have obligations to report emissions and to obtain and surrender emissions units (carbon credits).
Temperature
Since instrumental measurements began in the late 19th century, New Zealand's average air temperatures have fluctuated substantially year to year, and a number of studies indicate that New Zealand's average temperature has increased.A significant upward trend in national average air temperature was detected of 0.11°C per decade (for the period from 1896 to 1994) with a 95% confidence interval ± 0.035°C. This is roughly twice the trend reported for global data, which may be due to the relative absence of sulfate aerosols in the South Pacific.
The Royal Society of New Zealand's statement on climate change notes that between 1908 and 2006, there has been a clear upward linear trend in the country-wide average air temperature of 0.9°Celsius.
Carbon dioxide
New Zealand has a long-term record of atmospheric carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
similar to the Keeling Curve
Keeling curve
The Keeling Curve is a graph which plots the ongoing change in concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere since 1958. It is based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii under the supervision of Charles David Keeling. Keeling's measurements showed the...
. In 1970, Charles Keeling
Charles David Keeling
Charles David Keeling was an American scientist whose recording of carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory first alerted the world to the possibility of anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming...
asked David Lowe, a physics graduate from Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
to establish continuous atmospheric measurements at a New Zealand site. The south-facing Baring Head
Baring Head
Baring Head lies between Wellington Harbour and Palliser Bay at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand. The Baring Head Lighthouse, constructed in 1935, is located on the headland....
, on the eastern entrance to Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
, was chosen as being representative of the atmosphere of the southern hemisphere. Lowe initially built an automatic air-sampling machine using parts from a used telephone exchange.
Modelled wind directions indicated that air flows were originating from 55 degrees south. The Baring Head data shows about the same overall rate of increase in CO2 as the measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory
Mauna Loa Observatory
The Mauna Loa Observatory is an atmospheric baseline station on Mauna Loa volcano, on the big island of Hawaii.-The observatory:Since 1956 Mauna Loa Observatory has been monitoring and collecting data relating to atmospheric change, and is known especially for the continuous monitoring of...
, but with a smaller seasonal variation. The Baring Head CO2 concentrations have increased by 50 parts per million between first records in the early 1970s and 2005. The rate of increase in 2005 was 2.5 parts per million per year. The Baring Head record is the longest continuous record of atmospheric CO2 in the Southern Hemisphere and it featured in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 in conjunction with the better-known Mauna Loa record.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences...
has also recorded atmospheric concentrations of methane (from 1989) and nitrous oxide (from 1997) at Baring Head.
Glaciers
Since 1977 , the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric ResearchNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences...
has been using aerial surveys of late summer snowline to estimate the mass balance
Glacier mass balance
Crucial to the survival of a glacier is its mass balance, the difference between accumulation and ablation . Climate change may cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, causing changes in mass balance. Changes in mass balance control a glacier's long term behavior and is the most...
of 50 index glaciers. The snowline marks the equilibrium line of a glacier; above the line the glacier is accumulating snow and below the line the glacier is melting. The mass balance is the net gain or loss of snow and ice.
The latest survey, in 2009, indicated two years of decline in the overall mass of the index glaciers. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research considers that the volume of ice in New Zealand's glaciers
Glaciers of New Zealand
New Zealand contains many glaciers, mostly located near the Main Divide of the Southern Alps in the South Island.An inventory of South Island glaciers during the 1980s indicated there were about 3,155 glaciers with an area of at least one hectare . Approximately one sixth of these glaciers covered...
has declined by about 50% in the last century, while New Zealand’s average temperature increased by about 1 °Celsius.
New Zealand's largest glacier, the Tasman Glacier
Tasman Glacier
The Tasman Glacier is the largest of several glaciers which flow south and east towards the Mackenzie Basin from the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island. It is New Zealand's longest glacier.-Geography:...
has retreated about 180 metres a year on average since the 1990s and the glacier's terminal lake, Tasman Lake
Tasman Lake
Tasman Lake is a proglacial lake formed by the recent retreat of the Tasman Glacier in New Zealand's South Island.In the early 1970s, there were several small meltwater ponds on the Tasman Glacier. By 1990, these ponds had merged into Tasman Lake....
, is expanding at the expense of the glacier. Massey University scientists expect that Lake Tasman will stabilise at a maximum size in about 10 to 19 years, and eventually the Tasman Glacier will disappear completely. In 1973 the Tasman Glacier had no terminal lake and by 2008 Tasman Lake was 7 km long, 2 km wide and 245m deep.
Sea level
An analysis of long term records from four New Zealand tide gauges indicates an average rate of increase in sea levelCurrent sea level rise
Current sea level rise potentially impacts human populations and the wider natural environment . Global average sea level rose at an average rate of around 1.8 mm per year over 1961 to 2003 and at an average rate of about 3.1 mm per year from 1993 to 2003...
of 1.6 mm a year for the 100 years to 2000, which is considered to be relatively consistent with other regional and global sea level rise calculations when corrected for glacial-isostatic effects. One global average rate of sea-level rise is 1.7 ± 0.3 mm per year for the 20th century (Church and White (2006). Another global average rate of sea-level rise is 1.8 mm/yr ± 0.1 for the period 1880–1980.
A 2008 study of cores from salt-marshes near Pounawea
Pounawea
Pounawea is a small settlement in The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southwest of Owaka, at the mouth of the Catlins River. It is a popular holiday spot with a seasonal population, there are numerous cribs at the settlement....
indicated that the rate of sea level rise in the 20th century, 2.8 ± 0.5 mm per year, had been greater than rate of change in earlier centuries (0.3 ± 0.3 mm per year from AD 1500 to AD 1900) and that the 20th century sea level rise was consistent with instrumental measurements recorded since 1924.
International treaties
New Zealand ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992...
(the UNFCCC) in September 1993.
New Zealand signed the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
to the UNFCCC on 22 May 1998 and ratified it on 19 December 2002. As an Annex B party, New Zealand has a responsibility target to limit greenhouse gas emissions for the five-year 2008-2012 commitment period (CP1) to five times the 1990 volume. New Zealand may meet this target by either reducing emissions or by obtaining carbon credits from the international market or from domestic carbon sinks. The credits may be any of the Kyoto units; Assigned amount units
Assigned amount units
An Assigned Amount Unit is a tradable 'Kyoto unit' or 'carbon credit' representing an allowance to emit greenhouse gases comprising one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents calculated using their Global Warming Potential....
(AAU), removal units (RMU), Emission Reduction Unit
Emission Reduction Unit
The Emission reduction unit is a trading unit under the Kyoto Protocol representing a reduction of greenhouse gases under the Joint Implementation mechanism, where it represents one tonne of equivalent reduced....
s (ERU) and Certified Emission Reduction
Certified Emission Reduction
Certified Emission Reductions are a type of emissions unit issued by the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects and verified by a DOE under the rules of the Kyoto Protocol...
(CER) units.
New Zealand's responsibility target is expressed as an “assigned amount” of allowed emissions over the 2008-2012 commitment period. The allowed emissions are divided into tradeable Assigned amount units
Assigned amount units
An Assigned Amount Unit is a tradable 'Kyoto unit' or 'carbon credit' representing an allowance to emit greenhouse gases comprising one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents calculated using their Global Warming Potential....
(AAUs) and each Annex I Party issues to itself Assigned amount units
Assigned amount units
An Assigned Amount Unit is a tradable 'Kyoto unit' or 'carbon credit' representing an allowance to emit greenhouse gases comprising one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents calculated using their Global Warming Potential....
(denominated as 1 metric tonne of equivalent) up to its "assigned amount" under Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2007, New Zealand's 309,564,733 Assigned amount units
Assigned amount units
An Assigned Amount Unit is a tradable 'Kyoto unit' or 'carbon credit' representing an allowance to emit greenhouse gases comprising one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents calculated using their Global Warming Potential....
were recorded in the NZ Emission Unit Register.
In June 2005, a financial liability under the Kyoto Protocol for a shortfall of emission units of 36.2 million tonnes of -e was first recognised in the Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand. It was estimated as a liability of $NZ310 million.
Emissions intensity
The Ministry for the Environment considers that the energy intensity of New Zealand's economic output has to some degree decreased since 1990.According to estimates from the International Energy Association, New Zealand's per capita carbon dioxide emissions roughly doubled from 1970 to 2000 and then exceeded the per capita carbon dioxide emissions of both the United Kingdom and the European Union.
In 2005, New Zealand’s per capita emissions of the six greenhouse gases were 18.5 tonnes CO2 equivalents per head of population. New Zealand GHG emissions were 12th highest in the world per capita. The Ministry for the Environment's 2007 State of the Environment report noted that New Zealand's per capita GHG emissions were high and were exceeded in the OECD only by countries such as Australia and Canada. Bertram and Terry (2010, p 164) state that on a per capita basis, New Zealand's GHG emissions are unambiguously a significant contribution.
Greenhouse gas emissions
New Zealand has a relatively unique emissions profile. In 2007, agriculture contributed 48.2% of total emissions, energy (including transport); 43.2%, industry; 6.1%, waste; 2.4%. In other Kyoto Protocol Annex 1 countries, agriculture typically contributes about 11% of total emissions.From 1990 to 2007, total greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions in New Zealand increased by 22.1%. Emission increases by sector were - agriculture; 12.1%, energy; 39.2%, industry; 35.0%. Only the small waste sector reduced emissions, by 25.3%.
N2O emissions originate from animal excrement and from the use of nitrogenous fertiliser. Livestock produce methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
from rumination. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide as it can trap twenty times the heat of an equivalent volume of carbon dioxide. Since New Zealand has large stock numbers these emissions are significant. In 2003, the Government proposed an Agricultural emissions research levy to fund research into reducing ruminant emissions. The proposal, popularly called a "fart tax", was strongly opposed by Federated Farmers and was later abandoned. The Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network
Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network
The Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network is an international research network focused on improving the understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock agriculture.It was established in November 2007.-External links:*...
(LEARN) was launched in 2007 to address livestock emissions. The Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium
Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium
The Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium carries out research to find methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. The consortium, established in 2004, has a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Government...
between the New Zealand government and industry groups seeks to reduce agricultural emissions through the funding of research.
At the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December and 18 December. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...
in Copenhagen, the New Zealand government announced the formation of the Global Research Alliance involving 20 other countries. New Zealand will contribute NZ$45 million over four years towards research on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon tax policy
From 2002, the policy of the Labour-led Clark GovernmentFifth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand between 10 December 1999 and 19 November 2008.-Overview:The fourth National government, in power since 1990, was widely unpopular by 1999, with much of the public antagonised by a series of free-market economic reforms,...
was to implement a carbon tax
Carbon tax
A carbon tax is an environmental tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a form of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is released as carbon dioxide when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources—wind, sunlight, hydropower, and nuclear—do not...
in 2007. The proposed carbon tax would apply to the whole economy, except for emissions of agricultural methane and nitrous oxide. The tax would initially be $15 per tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent, based on approximating the international price of emissions. It would be capped at $25 per tonne. The carbon tax policy was intended to be precursor to emissions trading when it became internationally established.
However, in December 2005, the Government announced that following a review of climate change policy it would not implement the proposed carbon tax. The political parties New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
and United Future, who were support parties of the Labour-led Government, opposed the tax.
The Green Party described the withdrawal the carbon tax as 'giving up on climate change' and 'capitulating' to the Anti-Kyoto lobby.
The Environmental Defence Society described the withdrawal of the carbon tax as "pathetic" and a result of the NZ Government Climate Change Office being 'captured' by vested interests such as energy intensive businesses and the Greenhouse Policy Coalition.
Emissions trading scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gasGreenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es uncapped emissions trading scheme first legislated
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008
The Climate Change Response Amendment Act 2008 was a statute enacted in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand that established the first version of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases uncapped emissions trading...
in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand
Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand between 10 December 1999 and 19 November 2008.-Overview:The fourth National government, in power since 1990, was widely unpopular by 1999, with much of the public antagonised by a series of free-market economic reforms,...
and amended in November 2009 by the Fifth National Government of New Zealand
Fifth National Government of New Zealand
The Fifth National Government of New Zealand is the current government of New Zealand. It is led by Prime Minister John Key.After the 2008 general election the National Party and its allies were able to form a government, taking over from Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government. The National party...
.
Although the NZ ETS is 'all-sectors', individual sectors of the economy have different 'entry dates' when their obligations to report emissions and surrender emission units have effect. Forestry entered on 1 January 2008. Stationary energy, industrial processes and liquid fossil fuel emissions enter the NZ ETS on 1 July 2010. Agriculture does not enter the scheme until 1 January 2015.
Tradable emission units will be issued by free allocation to emitters, with no auctions in the short term. The fishing sector, which does not have a direct obligation under the NZ ETS, will receive free units on a historic basis, 90 per cent of their 2005 emissions (bullet points 9 & 10 MfE Sept 2009). Pre-1990 forests will receive a fixed free allocation of 60 emissions units per hectare. Allocation to emissions-intensive industry, and agriculture will be provided on an output-intensity basis. Output-based allocation will be based on the industry average emissions per unit of output and will be uncapped. Bertram and Terry (2010, p 16 ) state that as there is no 'cap' on emissions, the NZ ETS is not a cap and trade scheme as understood in the economics literature.
A transition period will operate from 1 July 2010 until 31 December 2012. During this period the price of New Zealand Emissions Units (NZUs) will be capped at NZ$25. Also, one unit will only need to be surrendered for every two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, effectively reducing the cost of emissions to NZ$12.50 per tonne (MfE 2009, second bullet point).
Section 3 of the Climate Change Response Act 2002
Climate Change Response Act 2002
The Climate Change Response Act 2002 is an Act of Parliament passed by the government of New Zealand.The Climate Change Response Act 2002 creates the legal framework for New Zealand to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and to meet obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...
(the Act) defines the purpose of the Act as to reduce emissions from business-as-usual-levels and to fulfill New Zealand's international obligations under the United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
. Some stakeholders have criticized the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme for its generous free allocations of emission units and the lack of a carbon price signal (the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is an independent Officer of the New Zealand Parliament appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives for a five-year term under the Environment Act 1986...
), and being ineffective in reducing emissions (Greenpeace NZ).
Political parties stance on climate change
Prior to the 2008 election, the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandFifth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand between 10 December 1999 and 19 November 2008.-Overview:The fourth National government, in power since 1990, was widely unpopular by 1999, with much of the public antagonised by a series of free-market economic reforms,...
had committed itself to addressing climate change and had declared a goal for New Zealand of carbon neutrality. To achieve this, two objectives were set: generating 90 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025; and, halving per capita transport emissions by 2040. The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill was introduced into Parliament by the Fifth Labour Government on December 4, 2007. On 10 September 2008, the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008
The Climate Change Response Amendment Act 2008 was a statute enacted in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand that established the first version of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases uncapped emissions trading...
had its third reading in Parliament and was adopted 63 votes to 57 with support from the Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
and New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
.
For the 2008 election, the policy of the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
was to honour New Zealand's Kyoto Protocol obligations and to set a goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The Labour ETS
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008
The Climate Change Response Amendment Act 2008 was a statute enacted in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand that established the first version of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases uncapped emissions trading...
would be amended by 1 January 2010 to better balance environmental and economic concerns, and to make it fiscally neutral, flexible, aligned with the Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and not disadvantageous to consumers and small business.
The Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
support lowering carbon emissions, exposing the economy to the externalities
Externality
In economics, an externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit...
of carbon emissions and using income from a carbon tax
Carbon tax
A carbon tax is an environmental tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a form of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is released as carbon dioxide when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources—wind, sunlight, hydropower, and nuclear—do not...
to achieve a low carbon economy and to protect those on low incomes from the economic consequences of climate change.
The ACT Party went into the 2008 election with a policy that in part stated "New Zealand is not warming" and that their policy goal was to ensure "That no New Zealand government will ever impose needless and unjustified taxation or regulation on its citizens in a misguided attempt to reduce global warming or become a world leader in carbon neutrality" In September 2008, ACT Party Leader Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
stated "that the entire climate change - global warming hypothesis is a hoax, that the data and the hypothesis do not hold together, that Al Gore is a phoney and a fraud on this issue, and that the emissions trading scheme is a worldwide scam and swindle".
Civil society and non-governmental organisations
A number of civil society groupings and NGOs have formed to lobby in favour of and against a variety of climate change policies. Individuals also express policy preferences through forums such as the Internet, Letters to the Editor and talkback radio.Forest and Bird
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. is an environmental organisation specialising in conservation of indigenous plant and animal life in and around New Zealand....
, New Zealand's largest conservation organisation, campaigns on climate change by increasing public awareness. Climate has an effect on ecosystems and therefore on species. New Zealand has a number of endangered species that may be affected by climate change.
The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition
New Zealand Climate Science Coalition
The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition is an organisation based in New Zealand which has the aim of refuting what it believes are unfounded claims about anthropogenic global warming.-Beginnings:...
has the goal of refuting what it believes are unfounded claims about anthropogenic global warming. It was formed in May 2006 by Vincent Gray
Vincent R. Gray
Vincent R. Gray is a New Zealand-based chemist, and a founder of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. He has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Cambridge University after studies on incendiaty bomb fluids made from aluminium soaps, He has had a long scientific career in the UK, France,...
and Augie Auer
Augie Auer
August H. "Augie" Auer Jr was an atmospheric scientist and meteorologist in New Zealand.As a boy growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Auer was reportedly fascinated by weather. After a freak winter storm caused havoc in his home town, he decided to become a meteorologist...
among others. In August 2010, the Coalition announced it had commenced legal action against the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences...
(NIWA), asking the High Court
High Court of New Zealand
The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....
to invalidate its official temperature record, to prevent it using the temperature record when advising Government and to require NIWA to produce a "full and accurate" temperature record.
The Greenhouse Policy Coalition, describes itself as representing the energy-intensive sector (aluminium, steel, forestry, coal, dairy processing and gas sectors). It was set up in 1996 to allow the New Zealand business sector to grow and to be profitable and sustainable. The Coalition accepts anthropogenic climate change and sees a need for public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
to mitigate its effects, as long as that policy is 'moderate and measured'.