Executive Summary
On the whole, New Zealand has relatively good air quality due to a low population density, close proximity to the sea, and remoteness from other continents and sources of pollution. However, concentrations of fine particles are high in some urban areas and are thought to be creating adverse health impacts that affect both society's quality of life and the economy as a whole. Monitoring results indicate that the existing guideline value for fine particles has been exceeded at 36 locations throughout New Zealand. In many of these areas, the daily guideline is exceeded more than five times a year. It is estimated that five centres (Alexandra, Christchurch, Nelson, Richmond and Timaru) are likely to exceed fine particle guideline values more than 50 times a year.
Although the Resource Management Act was passed more than 12 years ago, no national environmental standards have been developed under the Act. Unlike other countries, New Zealand has no national standards for environmental protection.
National environmental standards have been advocated by industry to give both a 'level playing field' across regions, and to provide certainty in decision making under the Resource Management Act. The benefits in providing consistency and certainty are large, but are difficult to quantify and are not calculated in the subsequent analysis. Instead, the report focuses on the costs and benefits of using national environmental standards to provide an equitable bottom line of health and environmental protection for all New Zealanders.
Section 32 of the Resource Management Act requires the Minister for the Environment to evaluate the objectives and policies of any proposed national environmental standards. A report must be prepared that evaluates whether the proposal is the most appropriate method for achieving the objectives, having regard to their efficiency and effectiveness. Such analysis is included in this report.
The detailed analysis shows that the proposed air quality standards would:
- save 625 lives over the analysis period to 2020
- incur total costs conservatively estimated at $110.8 million
- involve a cost per life saved of $177,000
- have a net present value of $318.4 million
- have a benefit-to-cost ratio of 3.87.
It is, therefore, recommended that the proposed national environmental standards present the most appropriate, effective and efficient means of meeting the Minister for the Environment's objectives for air quality management.
