The Government is inviting New Zealanders to share feedback on our international climate change target (known as a Nationally Determined Contribution) ahead of setting the next target in February 2025.
The Climate Change Commission has recently released advice on the level of domestic emissions reductions that can realistically be achieved during 2031 – 2035. This advice will help to inform final decisions for our second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC2) as these reductions count toward our international targets.
New Zealand is required to set international climate change targets under the Paris Agreement, which is an international treaty aimed at strengthening the global response to climate change. The Paris Agreement’s purpose is to limit global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius to help to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Our first Nationally Determined Contribution was updated in 2021 and sets a headline target of a 50 per cent reduction of net emissions below our gross 2005 level by 2030. Our NDC covers the period 2021-2030.
New Zealand’s second Nationally Determined Contribution will cover the period from 2031 – 2035 and must be a progression on our first target. This is commonly understood to mean that it must be higher than our first NDC.
We are asking New Zealanders for feedback on how the Government could weight the different factors it must consider when settings its second Nationally Determined Contribution. This is also an opportunity to provide any feedback on the Commission’s advice or on NDC2 more generally before final decisions are made.
People can provide their feedback through a short survey on the Ministry’s website, where they will be asked to rank how important certain aspects of the NDC are to them and provide any other relevant information or feedback.
The opportunity for feedback closes at 11.59pm on 8 December 2024.