Chapter 3 Equitable transition
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Leads
- Minister for Social Development and Employment, Hon. Carmel Supuloni
- Minister for Economic and Regional Development, Hon. Stuart Nash
- Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Carolyn Tremain
- Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development, Debbie Power
Supporting
- Minister of Education
- Minister of Climate Change
- Secretary for the Environment
- Secretary for the Treasury
- Secretary for Education
Contribution to our long-term vision
This transition is an opportunity to work together to improve wellbeing, become more productive, increase resilience and reduce inequality. All New Zealanders can benefit from the changes we need to make to transition to a low-emissions economy. This is our chance to create new jobs through low-emissions industries, lower the cost of living and raise our living standards.
Why equitable transition is important
Our transition will require us to change the way we do things over the next 30 years. Those changes will bring us opportunities, build our low-emissions economy and lead to higher-wage jobs. It will mean new ways of getting around, and changes to how and where we live – changes that can improve our wellbeing and increase access to jobs and learning opportunities. We need to make sure those opportunities work for everyone so that our transition is just, fair and inclusive for all New Zealanders. Workers, whānau and households, business and industry, Māori, Pasifika, regional communities and economies, disabled people and wider communities need to be supported through this period of change.
Key actions
The Government’s approach to supporting New Zealanders through the transition is built around five objectives:
- seize the opportunities of the transition
- support proactive transition planning
- enable an affordable and inclusive transition
- build the evidence base and tools to monitor and assess impacts
- encourage informed public participation.
Actions to achieve those objectives include:
- an equitable transition strategy to help us proactively identify and develop initiatives that are tailored to make the most of the opportunities the transition brings and address the challenges that different groups may face
- initiatives to boost transition-aligned growth in the economy, providing jobs in low-emissions industries
- support for regions and communities to help them plan for a just, equitable and fair transition
- reforms to the education and training system to ensure it supports people to develop the skills needed for a low-emissions economy
- employment support, including retraining and skill-enhancement opportunities and access to income assistance to support workers and households
- tools, advice and support to enable businesses to transition
- transport, energy and waste initiatives to help mitigate impacts on households and whānau
- work to monitor and assess impacts to enable the Government to better respond to impacts of the transition
- public information and educationand support for grassroots participation in policy making.
Our transition to a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy will transform many aspects of our society. Reducing emissions will help our economy prosper, leading to higher wages and more productive and resilient businesses. A careful and well-managed transition that includes everyone can ensure that we reduce our emissions while improving wellbeing for all.
To ensure that this transition is equitable, fair and inclusive, we will need to:
- uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, work in partnership with Māori to maximise opportunities and avoid disproportionately affecting Māori or locking in existing inequities
- work collaboratively and inclusively with affected groups to understand their needs
- take opportunities to reduce inequalities and support communities and regions to transition in line with local objectives and aspirations
- prioritise support to those most affected and least able to adjust, particularly lower income households
- establish clear and stable policy settings that provide predictability for communities and businesses, allowing time to plan, respond and seize opportunities
- support workers to transition to quality jobs that align with Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate aspirations
- ensure that the pace of the transition balances the need to avoid abrupt and disruptive changes with the need for strong, early action that avoids placing the burden of change on future generations.
The Government has heard that there should be no delay in acting on climate change, but we need to proactively manage the transition to ensure that it is an equitable one.
Under the Paris Agreement, the Government has agreed to ‘take into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs…’. The Government also signed the ‘Supporting the Conditions for a Just Transition Internationally’ [UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021 website] declaration at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, which includes commitments to:
- supporting communities, regions, affected workers and vulnerable groups to transition away from carbon intensive activities
- implementing skills development and labour market policies that allow workers to shift to decent jobs in low-emissions sectors
- supporting and promoting social dialogue and stakeholder engagement on just transition planning, including with unions
- supporting developing countries and emerging economies to transition and promoting decent work throughout global supply chains.
The Climate Change Response Act 2002 requires the emissions reduction plan to include a strategy to mitigate the impacts that reducing emissions and increasing removals will have on employees and employers, regions, iwi and Māori, and wider communities, including the funding for any mitigation action.
The Government’s strategy to mitigate the impacts for these groups is built around the following objectives.
- Seize the opportunities of the transition, including new business and job opportunities.
- Support proactive transition planning with industries, workers, iwi and Māori, regions, small- and medium-businesses, and communities.
- Enable an affordable and inclusive transition, particularly for those least able to respond.
- Build the evidence base and tools to monitor and assess impacts to enable timely and well-evidenced policy responses.
- Encourage informed public participation, to support an active, engaged and informed public willing to advocate for and take up actions consistent with a low-emissions society.
Specific policies and actions to mitigate the impacts of the transition, and lay the foundations for an equitable transition, are addressed under these five objectives. These include new programmes and initiatives that will be rolled out across the early years of this emissions budget period as well as established measures that are already being implemented. An equitable transition for Māori is addressed in chapter 2: Empowering Māori.
The Government has established the Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) with an initial NZ$4.5 billion down payment, funded by proceeds from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). In addition to funding initiatives to directly reduce emissions, the fund was also established to support initiatives to manage the impacts of policies to reduce emissions. As an enduring, multi-year fund, the CERF provides flexibility to allocate funding to address the distributional impacts of the transition as they emerge.
Objective 1: Seize the opportunities of the transition
Our transition will drive new jobs and business opportunities. There will be new opportunities for low-emissions business and employment. New jobs and industries are already emerging in areas such as the circular economy and bioeconomy and the development of renewable energy technologies. For example, support the development of new clean energy technologies and work with businesses to commercialise their innovations and create high-paying local jobs.
Some businesses, including small- and medium-sized businesses, communities and workers will need support to seize new opportunities to develop a more productive, higher wage and inclusive economy. Many Māori businesses are already using cultural values to guide investment in low-emissions industries and to improve environmental aspects of existing businesses, which will help those businesses to transition.
Industry leaders and businesses are motivated to reduce emissions, but some need information, tools and resources to support their transition. The Government will look at ways to:
- support the adoption of low-emissions business models, and the transition of workers to low-emissions job opportunities, through guidance, advisory support and training programmes
- provide tailored support to Māori small and medium-sized enterprises, to accelerate the transition to low-emissions ways of working, adapt to climate change and take advantage of opportunities presented by the transition.
The Government plans to help New Zealanders seize the opportunities of the transition by:
- providing an education and training system that equips all learners to seize the opportunities of the transition, responds flexibly to the skills and needs of a low-emissions economy and enables access to lifelong learning. This includes growing Māori medium and kaupapa Māori education pathways from early learning through to tertiary education, which aligns with He Pou a Rangi – Climate Change Commission’s (the Commission)'s advice on the need for education pathways by Māori, for Māori (actions 3.1.1 and 3.1.2)
- boosting productivity and driving economic growth, including supporting new markets and export opportunities, such as hydrogen, biofuels and new clean tech
- providing tools and resources to support businesses, including small businesses, to transition to a low-emissions economy.
Action 3.1.1: Equip all children and young people for the transition
The early learning and schooling system is being strengthened to equip children and young people to be part of an equitable transition and positively contribute to our transition to a low-emissions society regardless of their life and career journeys.
Key initiatives
- changes to the national curriculum and National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA), including:
- a focus across the curriculum on growing our young people as kaitiaki and embedding an understanding of the collective nature of our wellbeing and learning, which supports social cohesion
- a focus on curiosity, critical thinking and citizenship, so our young people develop the skills, knowledge and capabilities to work together to solve problems and take action
- integrating climate change-related learning along with learning that is important for te mana o te taiao across the national curriculum
- mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori, with kaiako and teachers working with Māori to connect learning to local knowledge and action
- the introduction of a new Environments and Societies subject for NCEA, as well as themes of environmental sustainability and environmental concepts as part of a number of other subjects
- providing teaching and learning resources that support kaiako and teachers to connect learning purposefully to climate change contexts, careers, local action and the shifts needed for an equitable transition and a low-emissions economy
- a focus on wellbeing, which recognises the impact learning about climate change can have on our young people’s mental health. New curriculum leads are working regionally with teachers and kaiako to strengthen the focus on wellbeing in their local curriculum, and marau ā-kura and resources are being developed to support mental health education
- providing guidance on incorporating emissions reduction activities into local curriculum and marau ā-kura. This sits alongside guidance on comprehensive evidence-based strategies to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in schools.
Action 3.1.2: Create an accessible, responsive and flexible tertiary education and training system
The Reform of Vocational Education [Tertiary Education Commission website] will provide education and skills relevant to work today and in the future, including by establishing:
- industry-led Workforce Development Councils to set industry skills standards so that education and training programmes deliver the skills industry needs
- Regional Skills Leadership Groups, which enable better planning for regional labour markets and ensure that our workforce, education and immigration systems are working together to meet skills and labour market needs
- Te Pūkenga as a single vocational education institution responsible for workplace and provider-based learning, with a focus on meeting the needs of regions, learners and communities
- Centres of Vocational Excellence to enhance education system responsiveness, bringing together industry stakeholders, external providers, workforce development councils, Te Pūkenga, regional leadership groups and leading researchers to share and collaborate on high-quality curriculum and programme design.
Alongside these initiatives, the Government is committed to ensuring that tertiary education is accessible, including for those who would like to retrain so they can pursue new careers in emerging industries. The Government has already introduced fees free tertiary education for students or trainees in their first years of study.
As the transition progresses, the Government will continue to monitor trends in the demand for education and remove barriers to participation in lifelong learning. Options include introducing incentives to support specific types of skills, such as the recent Apprenticeship Boost initiative and the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship fund initiative. These initiatives were introduced to support apprentices to keep earning and training towards their qualifications as the economy recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Actions that boost productivity and drive economic growth
This plan sets out a range of initiatives that will boost transition-aligned growth in the economy, including:
- NZ$400 million invested in New Zealand Green Investment Finance to accelerate investment that supports Aotearoa New Zealand’s decarbonisation
- actions to accelerate the bioeconomy and bioenergy market in Aotearoa. This includes investigating options to stimulate private sector investment to build the supply of bioenergy in Aotearoa. This will help transform forestry and wood processing to a high-value, high-wage sector (see chapter 9: Circular economy and bioeconomy and chapter 14: Forestry)
- leveraging and building on the investment of approximately NZ$800 million in funding through the research, science and innovation system to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand’s research community and innovative businesses have the science capability, people, infrastructure, culture and experience needed to seize new opportunities (see chapter 8: Research, science, innovation and technology)
- NZ$30 million in initial funding has been allocated to the New Zealand Battery Project to investigate options to provide dry-year electricity storage. Some options, such as a pumped hydro scheme, could create significant employment opportunities, including 3,500 to 4,500 skilled and semi-skilled workers and thousands in indirect jobs (see chapter 11: Energy and Industry).
Other tools and resources to support businesses to transition
The plan sets out a range of tools, advice and access to funding and investment to help businesses transition. Key initiatives include:
- the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry fund, which provides grants to accelerate emissions reductions in industry through energy efficiency and switching from fossil fuels to low-emissions fuels (see chapter 11: Energy and Industry)
- the development of sector decarbonisation plans to support smaller businesses in emissions-intensive sectors to reduce emissions (see chapter 11: Energy and industry)
- business support programmes (delivered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) including energy audits, feasibility studies and co-investments to support technology demonstration projects (see chapter 11: Energy and Industry)
- proposed investment in resource recovery for construction and demolition waste materials, development of a national resource recovery network and consumer and business behaviour change campaigns to avoid organic waste (see chapter 15: Waste and chapter 12: Building and construction)
- climate-focused extension and advisory services to support landowners to boost productivity on their land and improve environmental outcomes (see chapter 13: Agriculture)
- the introduction of the Integrated Farm Planning project, including guidance for farmers and producers on their emissions profiles and how to reduce emissions (see chapter 13: Agriculture)
- policies to support Māori agribusinesses to develop innovative land-use solutions to improve productivity (see chapter 13: Agriculture)
- the Climate Action Toolbox, available through Business.govt.nz, which helps businesses to identify and complete actions to reduce their carbon emissions.
Objective 2: Support proactive transition planning
The transition will bring change across industries, jobs, land use and communities. Changes will play out in different ways for different regions, industries and groups in society, creating both challenges and opportunities.
Proactively preparing for change and developing plans will help affected groups identify and act on the opportunities that the transition will bring.
For that reason, the Commission recommended that the Government develop an equitable transition strategy to enable an inclusive transition that maximises opportunities and minimises disruption and inequities.
The Government is also committed to a range of existing initiatives to support regions and industries to manage the transition, including the Just Transition Partnership Programme.
Action 3.2.1: Develop an equitable transition strategy
To enable a fair, equitable and inclusive transition, the Government proposes to:
- develop an equitable transition strategy in collaboration with people and communities who will be most affected by the transition.
The strategy will develop tangible initiatives to address challenges and leverage opportunities that are targeted toward those groups in most need of support, drawing on a diverse range of perspectives and experiences. Initiatives will build on and align with the actions already set out in this plan.
The proposed objectives, participation framework and timeframes for the equitable transition strategy are set out in the following box.
Equitable transition strategy: Objectives, participation and timeframes
Drawing on the objectives identified by the Commission and feedback from public consultation, the Government proposes that the equitable transition strategy focuses on six initial objectives.
- Objective 1 – Undertake proactive transition planning that is developed in collaboration with Māori and other groups, with particular regard to those most affected by the transition.
- Objective 2 – Support strong and equitable learning pathways in the education system (including pathways by Māori, for Māori) that provide the skills needed for a low-emissions future. This includes identifying measures to support workers to transition from high-emissions sectors to low-emissions sectors and preventative interventions to avoid job loss.
- Objective 3 – Identify measures to support workers to transition from high-emissions sectors to low-emissions sectors and preventative interventions to avoid job loss.
- Objective 4 – Ensure climate strategies and policies are designed to maximise opportunities and minimise negative impacts, and develop monitoring of impacts and analysis of the opportunities and risks that the transition will bring for different groups.
- Objective 5 – Identify actions to support households and communities to benefit from the transition and seize opportunities to address existing inequity, for example, measures to improve fairness, accessibility and equity in the transport sector.
- Objective 6 – Identify measures to support continued business viability while also reducing emissions, including for small businesses.
Across these objectives, the actions and policies that are developed will be tailored to the different challenges and opportunities that exist for different groups. This will be achieved through meaningful engagement across a broad range of interests, including unions, workers, business, women, education providers, regional and rural communities, local government, disabled people, Māori, Pasifika, and representatives for groups such as low-income and beneficiary households.
The strategy will build on lessons learned through Just Transition Partnerships and, where appropriate, will draw on existing government partnerships, including, for example, the Future of Work Tripartite Forum [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website] (see case study).
The robust development of the equitable transition strategy will take time. To deliver tangible actions to address urgent challenges, this process will rapidly identify:
- priority workstreams where there is broad agreement and actions can be developed at pace
- specific challenges for which solutions will take more time to agree and develop.
Case study: Future of Work Tripartite Forum
The Future of Work Tripartite Forum (the Forum) is a partnership between the Government, BusinessNZ and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions that supports businesses and workers to meet the challenges and opportunities presented in a rapidly changing world of work. The Forum is working to address the challenges and opportunities associated with a transition to a low-emissions economy and has a dedicated workstream on just transitions. The Government intends to seek the Forum’s input across relevant parts of the future climate change work programme, including the equitable transition strategy (action 3.2.1).
Action 3.2.2: Support regions and industries to manage the transition
The equitable transition strategy will complement a range of existing initiatives to support regions and industries to plan for – and successfully manage – the transition.
Key initiatives
- The NZ$200 million Regional Strategic Partnership Fund that, guided by regional priorities, supports the development of more productive, resilient, sustainable, inclusive and Māori-enabling regional economies.
- A Regional System Leadership Framework supporting strengthened regional public service leadership, working collectively with regional leaders, partners and communities to improve community wellbeing.
- Developing Regional Workforce Plans with local communities to ensure the skills needed in the regions are developed and readily available.
- The development of industry transformation plans (ITPs) [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website], which bring together relevant parties in a sector to:
- agree on a long-term vision
- understand opportunities and challenges, including decarbonisation, improving environmental outcomes and productivity
- identify actions that can be taken by industry, the Government and others to support transformation of the sector towards the vision.
- ITPs are progressing in eight sectors: agritech, advanced manufacturing, construction, digital technologies, fisheries, food and beverage, forestry and wood processing and tourism. For example:
- the forestry and wood processing ITP aims to lift productivity, increase value- add processing and catalyse the production of new low-emissions products and energy to support Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition.
Action 3.2.3: Implement the Just Transition Partnerships programme
The Just Transition Partnerships programme supports regional communities to understand, plan and successfully manage their transitions. The process empowers communities to lead transition planning so that all parts of the community are included in shaping their future, any proposals leverage the community’s strengths, knowledge and capabilities, and actions are tailored to the community’s specific needs and aspirations.
Just Transition Partnerships enable the Government to work in direct partnership with a region to:
- better understand the impacts and opportunities posed by the transition
- support the entire community to come together in partnership to lead change
- imagine a compelling strategic vision and the pathways needed to achieve that future
- identify what income, labour and economic development support is required
- accelerate locally led solutions
- support the region to adjust its approach to transition over time.
The Government will:
- continue to implement the Just Transition Partnerships programme. The programme is currently focused on supporting the people of Taranaki to craft a vision and roadmap for the future of their region [Venture Taranaki website] and working with Southlanders to develop a Just Transition Work Plan [Southland Just Transition website]. However, the Just Transition approach can be applied with varying levels of support across other regions facing different transition challenges
- develop publicly available guidance in 2022–23, for those who wish to undertake a just transition process, in light of the Commission’s advice about the importance of localised transition planning and learning from the experience in Taranaki and Southland. This can be used to support regional partners, such as local government and Māori, in their transition thinking and planning.
Objective 3: An affordable and inclusive transition to support all New Zealanders
The Government is committed to ensuring the transition leaves no community, no family and no person behind. This means supporting low-income whānau, households and other vulnerable groups who may face transition impacts and require access to resources and technologies to help them reduce emissions.
In many cases, reducing emissions can also help reduce the cost of living. For example, better access to public transport or safe walkways can help reduce fuel costs and reduce the cost of living. Using clean energy produced in Aotearoa and reducing our use of fossil fuel will also lower our exposure to volatile global markets.
The Government will also support businesses, including small businesses, to reduce emissions and leverage new opportunities presented by the transition, which will help retain existing jobs. However, some workers will need to transition toward work in lower-emissions industries. At-risk or displaced workers will need employment support, including retraining and skill-enhancement opportunities, and access to income assistance to support them through the transition.
The Government recognises the need for a resilient welfare system that lessens the impacts of Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a low-emissions economy. The Government’s vision is of a welfare system that ensures people have an adequate income and standard of living, are treated – and can live – with dignity and are able to participate meaningfully in their communities. The Government has already made significant progress on this vision. Workers and households will be supported by existing welfare and employment support systems and changes that have already been implemented, including:
- main benefit increases and indexing of main benefits to wage growth
- improvements that have been made to Working for Families through the Families Package
- changes to eligibility for the In-Work Tax Credit
- increased support for families in greatest need as part of the review of Working for Families.
Action 3.3.1: Develop an income insurance scheme
To better protect workers, whānau and households and the economy, the Government, alongside BusinessNZ and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, is consulting on:
- the proposed design of a New Zealand Income Insurance scheme [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website], which will support workers with 80 per cent of their income for up to seven months if they lose their job through no fault of their own.
Workers would have the financial security to find a job that matches their skills, needs and aspirations. Businesses would be able to better match workers to jobs. The impact of a large employer closing or resizing in a small town or region would be cushioned by this policy.
If a decision is made to introduce the proposed scheme, the Government would introduce legislation in 2022 and the scheme could start operating in 2023. Introducing an income insurance scheme would be an important step change that lets us manage the challenges and harness the opportunities that lie ahead for New Zealand.
Action 3.3.2: Improve welfare system income adequacy
To ensure that the welfare system continues to adequately support workers and households, the Government will:
- monitor whether the level of support provided through income support payments (including main benefits, Working for Families tax credits, Winter Energy Payment and various other supports) are adequate should emissions abatement policies result in higher costs for households.
Action 3.3.3: Strengthen employment support services
The Government is committed to a strengthened, proactive employment support service, tailored to respond to different needs and priorities. This will enable New Zealanders to prepare for, find and retain suitable employment.
Key initiatives
Current employment supports include:
- the Redeployment Support Service, which focuses on early intervention to support workers at risk to transition to new employment
- job placement and brokerage
- redundancy services
- the training incentive allowance, which supports sole parents, carers and disabled people on eligible benefits to gain qualifications at levels 1–7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework
- industry-based upskilling, including through Mana in Mahi and Skills for Industry
- short-term self-service training options
- wage subsidies, including the flexi-wage programme, to incentivise employers to hire displaced or unemployed workers as they upskill or retrain on the job.
Work is also underway to:
- review the mix of active labour market programmes needed to support those at risk of displacement – or becoming unemployed – through the transition to a low-emissions economy.
Other actions to mitigate impacts on individuals, whānau and households
Alongside actions 3.3.1 to 3.3.3, this plan identifies a range of initiatives to support an affordable and inclusive transition for individuals, whānau and households.
Transport, energy and waste are key areas where targeted policies will help mitigate the impacts of the transition. These policies include:
- working with local government to make public transport more affordable, with a particular focus on low-income users (see chapter 10: Transport)
- working with local government to deliver public transport, walking and cycling improvements in low socio-economic areas and for transport disadvantaged groups (see chapter 10: Transport)
- increasing access to low- and zero-emissions vehicles for low-income households by supporting social leasing schemes and trialling an equity-oriented vehicle scrap and replace scheme (see chapter 10: Transport)
- helping households reduce their energy bills and keep their homes healthy, warm and dry, with funding for heating and insulation upgrades through Warmer Kiwi Homes (see chapter 11: Energy and industry)
- introducing Healthy Homes Standards [Ministry of Housing and Urban Development website], to raise the quality of rental homes
- supporting community renewable energy projects for Māori and public housing, such as solar panels and batteries (see chapter 11: Energy and industry)
- delivering the Support for Energy Education in Communities Programme to provide community level education to assist people to achieve warmer homes and lower energy bills (see chapter 11: Energy and industry)
- supporting waste minimisation initiatives, including waste avoidance programmes for urban and rural households, funded by revenue raised through the waste disposal levy (see chapter 15: Waste)
- supporting Māori communities to manage waste, such as the Para Kore programme, which operates in marae, kōhanga reo, kura and other Māori community organisations to provide education and training in waste
management (see chapter 15: Waste) - addressing affordability and hardship for electricity consumers through an ongoing work programme that responds to the Electricity Price Review 2019 (see chapter 11: Energy and industry). Broader initiatives include the Winter Energy Payment, which helps households with their power bills.
Objective 4: Build the evidence base and tools to monitor and assess impacts
This plan focuses on actions to reduce emissions over the next three to five years, while also setting the foundation for transitioning to a high-wage, low-emissions economy over the next 30 years. To ensure this transition is fair, equitable and inclusive, we will need to be agile, monitor and assess the impact of the transition, build the evidence base for further action and respond where needed with further measures to support an equitable transition.
Action 3.4: Build the evidence base and monitor and assess impacts
To build the evidence base and tools to monitor and assess impacts of the transition, the Government will:
- track a range of existing measures to assess the impact of the transition, including the Consumers Price Index, to help understand the impact of emissions pricing on household costs and labour market measures to help understand the impacts on employment
- develop modelling and research to improve our understanding of how the transition will affect different groups in society (also known as distributional impact analysis)
- support better policy design to mitigate potential inequitable outcomes and enable timely and effective policy responses to unexpected impacts
- ensure the Equitable Transition Strategy:
- promotes engagement, social dialogue and a more in-depth understanding of the likely impacts of emissions reduction policies and the best ways to support those affected
- identifies opportunities to improve modelling, analysis and real-time monitoring of distributional impacts over time.
The Government will also look to:
- improve the collection, use and availability of data and statistics to better monitor and forecast the impacts of the transition, particularly on vulnerable New Zealanders.
Objective 5: Informed public participation
Our society’s transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future requires a combination of system-wide change and actions from individuals, households and communities. An equitable transition requires all New Zealanders to be empowered to make low-emissions choices and have a voice in the development of climate change policies and programmes.
This first emissions reduction plan has been informed by public consultation and engagement with the Government and the Commission. Ongoing public participation is needed to support the policies and programmes the Government will put in place to transition to a climate-resilient and low-emissions future.
Making our transition needs an active and engaged public who is willing to not only advocate for, but also take up, actions consistent with a zero-emissions society.
The Government will support New Zealanders to understand, propose and adopt low-emissions solutions and is investigating ways to:
- provide trusted information to inform low-emissions choices
- ensure New Zealanders have a say in how we respond to our climate challenges
- support ideas and solutions from our diverse communities.
Action 3.5.1: Inform low-emissions choices through a Climate Information Centre
New Zealanders largely understand and support measures to address climate change, but many do not know how to make a meaningful contribution. The Government also recognises its role in combatting misinformation and disinformation that can undermine climate messages, actions and the reality of climate change and its impacts on our society.
To inform low-emissions choices, the Government is investigating the benefits of establishing a climate information centre to provide a trusted source of information to promote and socialise the wise-scale behaviour changes needed.
Action 3.5.2: Enable inclusive and participatory climate responses
Lasting solutions are built with the involvement of all sections of society.
The Government is investigating ways to increase public participation in climate policy and prioritising actions.
Action 3.5.3: Support localised and community-based solutions
The low-emissions behaviour we need to adopt will be as varied as our people and places.
The Government is looking to empower communities and Māori to champion local actions specific to their situation and to share ideas that work to encourage adoption of low-emissions behaviours. For example, local ‘ride and drive’ events are an effective way to reduce misconceptions and concerns about electric bikes and vehicles.
Chapter 3 Equitable transition
May 2022
© Ministry for the Environment