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2. Statement of Service Performance for the Year Ended 30 June 2008

Vote: Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Output Class: Climate Change – Policy Advice and Implementation

Through this output class, the Minister purchased the provision of Climate Change Policy Advice and Implementation programmes designed to reduce carbon emissions.

Resources employed

Actual
30/06/2007
$000		   Actual
30/06/2008
$000 		Main estimates
30/06/2008
$000 		Supplementary estimates
30/06/2008
$000
  Revenue:      
8,085 Crown 14,070 9,293 14,070
60 Other 65 55 55
8,145 Total revenue 14,135 9,348 14,125
8,035 Total expenses 12,478 9,348 14,125
110 Net surplus 1,657 0 0

Output: Finalise climate change policy for New Zealand.

Performance Measure 2007/08 Performance
Coordinate Government’s response to mitigating climate change and produce a Cabinet paper on the preferred pathway to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gases by July 2007. (Note the target date was changed from July 2007 to September 2007 in agreement with the Minister.)

Achieved – Government announced its proposed climate change solutions on 20 September 2007, including the proposed New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

he Ministry continued to act as coordinator of Government’s climate change policy response, including the development of the www.climatechange.govt.nz website and the release of the document, New Zealand’s Climate Change Solutions: An Overview on 20 September 2007 alongside a suite of other public documents on emissions trading and energy.
Assist other agencies in the delivery of Government’s response to mitigating climate change. Achieved – Seven Ministry staff were seconded to the Emissions Trading Group in Treasury. Support was provided to the Ministry of Economic Development on the development of the NZ Energy Strategy and to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the development of the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Programme of Action.
Propose and implement legislation/regulations to implement Government’s climate change policy by June 2008.

Achieved – The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill received its first reading on 11 December 2007. The Bill was reported back by the Finance and Expenditure Committee on 10 June 2008 and is now before the House of Representatives awaiting its second reading. Regulations for its implementation have been released as drafts for consultation. Implementation is dependant upon the passage of the Bill.

The Ministry helped implement the Government’s climate change policy with legislation to bring about biofuels sales obligation, funding of an afforestation grant scheme, and creation of a marine energy fund.

Continue with the Communities for Climate Protection programme with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Achieved – A total of 32 councils are now participating in the Communities for Climate Protection programme led by the Ministry.

Output: Implement policy on climate change adaptation in partnership with priority stakeholders.

Performance Measure 2007/08 Performance
Coordinate Government’s response to preparing for the effects of climate change and update Cabinet on New Zealand’s response to the effects on climate change by February 2008.

Partially achieved – The Ministry coordinated Government’s response to preparing for the effects of climate change and organised the Interdepartmental Climate Change Adaptation Group.

The Ministry established e-government Interdepartmental Climate Change Adaptation Shared Workspace, liaised with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on its draft climate change adaptation work and on its co-benefits work, assisted other departments (eg, the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Fisheries, Civil Defence and Emergency Management, and the Department of Conservation), on their climate change adaptation programmes. The Ministry worked with Treasury on climate change and trade, and commissioned work on methods for climate change adaptation, and an assessment of options for approaches to sea level rise advice/regulation.

The Ministry reported to Cabinet on New Zealand’s response to the effects of climate change on 19 March 2008 and began analysis of vision and strategic approaches for national climate change adaptation.
Update the Government’s advice on the impacts on climate change following the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report and determine with the insurance council, local government and professional bodies how to communicate this information most effectively to influence decision-makers by December 2007.

Partially achieved – The Ministry revised and updated Government’s advice on the impacts of climate change in light of the Fourth Assessment Report. The Ministry coordinated workshops with the insurance council, local government and lifeline (ie, civil defence and engineering) sectors to consider the communication of the updated information. The Ministry published Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment: A Guidance Manual for Local Government in New Zealand in May 2008.

The Ministry undertook the following communications:

  • a series of interactive workshops for several regional engineering lifelines groups
  • presented at the four professional development courses on climate change run by the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand
  • presented at the six professional development courses on climate change run by the Road Controlling Authorities Forum
  • delivered more than 45 presentations on the impacts of climate change to professional bodies, organisations and conferences
  • delivered a multi-partner adaptation workshop for engineers, insurance industry and local government.

Output: Implement initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Performance Measure 2007/08 Performance
Manage and monitor 41 contracts under the Projects to Reduce Emissions programme. Achieved – All 41 contracts were managed and monitored in accordance with the Crown’s rights and obligations. Management and monitoring activities included responses to milestone reports, negotiating amendments with project participants, independent verification of annual reports from project participants and the first transfer of emission units under the programme.
Manage and monitor the two Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements. Achieved – The two Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements were managed and monitored according to the Crown’s obligations, including those relating to milestone reports.
Manage a tender for the purchase of up to 0.8 million emission units from the Projects to Reduce Emissions participants. Achieved – A successful tender process was completed in June 2008 and several offers were accepted. A substantial volume of credits were available within price ranges specified by Cabinet.
Coordinate the Carbon Neutral Public Service Programme with emission reduction plans in place by February 2008, verified emissions inventories by December 2007 and progress towards investment in offsets projects. Partially achieved – All public service departments in the Carbon Neutral Public Service Programme have completed emissions inventories and emission reduction plans. Most inventories were submitted to the Ministry by December 2007. Most reduction plans were in place by February 2008. All plans and inventories were completed and publicly released in April 2008. Six parcels of Department of Conservation land have been identified for native regeneration forest sinks (offsetting) projects, and carbon sequestration and regeneration enhancement plans are being developed for the six sites. A successful tender for Projects to Reduce Emissions emission units included contracts suitable for the Carbon Neutral Public Service programme.
Work with up to 20 large firms to develop robust greenhouse gas emission reports, benchmarking their emissions against best practice. (Note this measure was changed in agreement with the Minister to ‘Encourage wider update of carbon neutrality initiatives’.) Achieved – Three workshops on carbon markets were held in partnership with the Emissions Trading Group, the Institute of Policy Studies, and the Ministry of Economic Development. These were attended by business and business organisations. Voluntary emissions reporting guidelines were completed and are publicly available. The Ministry is continuing to explore support for business opportunities through the Clean Development Mechanism.

Output: Monitor New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and New Zealand’s progress towards the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol targets.

Performance Measure 2007/08 Performance
Meet New Zealand’s reporting obligations under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol and domestic reporting requirements, including the production of the annual greenhouse gas inventory and the net position projections report. (Note this measure was changed in agreement with the Minister to ‘Meet New Zealand’s reporting obligations under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol by coordinating, producing and submitting New Zealand’s national greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC secretariat by 15 April 2008. The inventory will be reviewed by an international expert review team in October 2008’.) Achieved – The Ministry submitted New Zealand’s annual greenhouse gas inventory under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol before the 15 April 2008 deadline, thus ensuring that New Zealand does not become ineligible to participate under the Kyoto Protocol for failing to submit the inventory. The Ministry published the international review under the Kyoto Protocol of New Zealand’s national system to account for emissions in August 2007. The review confirmed that New Zealand’s national system to prepare and report on greenhouse gas inventories meets all the international requirements, New Zealand’s assigned amount for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008–2012) is 309.564 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, and New Zealand is eligible to participate in the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms and has the ability to trade carbon internationally. New Zealand was one of the first three countries to gain eligibility in January 2008.
Produce greenhouse gas inventory and net position projections reports by the end of the 2007/08 financial year. (Note this measure was changed in agreement with the Minister to ‘Co-ordinate and produce a technical report on New Zealand’s projected net position under the Kyoto Protocol by the end of the 2007/08 financial year’.) Achieved – The Ministry produced the greenhouse gas inventory and net position projections report and managed an external review undertaken by AEA Technology and released the 2007 net position report in September 2007. The AEA technology report, released in December 2007, confirmed that our work was “generally sound and reasonable in its approach”, that the “2007 projections are more robust and better documented than the 2005 projections” and “projections form a reasonable assessment of New Zealand’s net position over the first commitment period”.
Present New Zealand’s position on reporting and future commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties in Bali in December 2007; and produce further reports and submissions on specific items as required by the United Nations. Achieved – The Ministry attended and covered reporting interests at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Bali December 2007. The Ministry presented New Zealand’s position and gained agreement on the “Bali Road Map” for future negotiations over the next two years. The Ministry continued to provide input into negotiations including climate change talks in Bangkok with sessions of both the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (first session) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (first part of the fifth session) at which Parties advanced the Bali Road Map agreed last December. The Ministry provided further reports and submissions as required by the UNFCCC.
Manage bilateral relationships with other countries including the formal arrangements with Australia and the United States of America by holding bilateral meetings with these countries. Achieved – The Ministry undertook successful bilateral engagement with the European Commission, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Singapore and India. A meeting with the United States of America has been planned.

 

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