The government maintains its commitment to a net-zero carbon target despite Australia’s opposition coalition abandoning its net-zero commitment.
Australian Liberal leader Sussan Ley revealed that her party would officially drop the 2050 net-zero emissions target. This decision came after the Australian Nationals had already announced they would also remove net-zero as an objective.
The Australian Coalition stated it continues to uphold its commitment to the Paris Agreement.
New Zealand enshrined its own climate target into law in 2019 with the passage of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act. This legislation mandates that carbon emissions must reach net-zero by 2050, with a less stringent reduction target for methane emissions.
It was announced last month that the government would amend the Act to lower the methane reduction target from a 24-47% decrease to a range of 14-24% instead.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated that his government will not follow the Australian Coalition’s lead in abandoning the net-zero carbon target.
“We are committed to meeting all of our targets, including net zero by 2050,” the spokesperson said.
Late last year, the Climate Change Commission recommended a more ambitious goal of achieving net-negative carbon emissions, highlighting that climate impacts are worsening faster than anticipated. The government is scheduled to respond to this recommendation later this month.