Figure 1: New Zealand energy sector carbon abatement curve

Text description for figure 1

The graph shows the additional marginal cost of reducing carbon by 1 ton for different buildings and emission costs. The most cost-effective efficiency measures are to the left of the figure and include retrofitting houses, energy efficiency measures in industrial buildings, energy efficiency measures in commercial buildings and the use of energy efficient products. These measures have ‘negative cost’ as they finance themselves through the reduced energy costs they results in. As you move to the right of the figure the carbon abatement measures become more expensive, with new houses being the most expensive measure.