Review of New Zealand's net position
October 2005
The most recent ‘net position’ report in May 2005, forecasted that New Zealand would have a net deficit of 36.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2 eq) during the first commitment period. Minister Hodgson requested an independent review of the net position report and that the results were provided to him by 31 October 2005.
The Ministry for the Environment contracted an independent UK based consulting firm, AEA Technology, to undertake the independent review. The key finding is that “the methodologies employed to project emissions and sinks across the different sectors [are] generally sound and reasonable in their approach”. The review noted the uncertainties inherent to all countries’ approaches to projecting future greenhouse gas emissions, and that it is “not uncommon” for projections to change on re-analysis. The reviewers provide a number of suggestions for improving the accuracy and robustness of future forecasts. They recognise that many of their recommendations build upon improvements already in train.
The Ministry for the Environment is leading a whole-of-government process to determine a response to the recommendations.
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