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You are here: The issues Contains: Climate change Contains: Policies and initiatives Contains:

Major climate change policies and strategies

There are a number of major policies and strategies that form the foundation of the Government’s response to climate change. These include:

  • The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) (Lead Agency: Ministry for the Environment) is a scheme which places a price on greenhouse gas emissions to encourage New Zealand to reduce and take responsibility for its emissions. All major sectors and all Kyoto greenhouse gases will be covered by the scheme
  • The New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES) (Lead Agency: Ministry of Economic Development) sets out the government’s vision of a reliable and resilient energy system delivering New Zealand sustainable, low-emissions energy services and it describes the actions needed to make this vision a reality.
  • The New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEES)(Lead Agency: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority)is an action plan for many of the energy efficiency and conservation objectives set out in the NZES. It aims to: promote sustainability as part of New Zealand’s national identity; improve the quality of life for New Zealand families, and; drive economic transformation in business.
  • The Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Plan of Action (Lead Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). provides a platform for the government to work in partnership with land based sector on climate change issues. This package includes a number of initiatives that help farmers, growers, foresters, and other businesses in the land management sectors develop the skills, knowledge, technology, and management techniques to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change.
  • The New Zealand Transport Strategy (Lead Agency: Ministry of Transport) defines the Government’s vision of an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system by 2010. One of its aims is to ensure environmental sustainability - policies will encourage usage of more energy efficient modes of transport and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.
  • The New Zealand Waste Strategy  (Lead Agency: Ministry for the Environment) sets a new direction for minimizing the country’s waste and for improving its recovery and management. It sets out a practical programme of large and small actions for the medium term, as well as some far-reaching, longer-term commitments.
  • The adaptation work programme (Lead Agency: Ministry for the Environment) seeks to help New Zealanders prepare for the physical impacts of climate change and enhance our capacity to adapt to these changes. Adaptation makes us more resilient to our current climate, less susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change and puts us in a position to take advantage of opportunities. A strong element of the adaptation programme involves working in partnership with central government agencies and with key stakeholders in the insurance, local government, engineering and agriculture (led by MAF) sectors.
  • A public awareness and education programme run by the Ministry for the Environment aims to raise public awareness about climate change and sustainability, and inform New Zealanders about the actions they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and becoming more sustainable. See the website www.sustainability.govt.nz and 4million careful owners website.