Emissions Reduction Plan Submission
On 24 November LCANZI made a submission to the Ministry for the Environment on the Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) discussion document (Te hau mÄrohi ki anamata, Transitioning to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future).
LCANZI supports the general direction of the ERP discussion document and welcomes the range of excellent policy proposals it sets out. However, LCANZI have several fundamental concerns:
While suggesting a number of promising individual policies, it does not set out any overall strategy to reduce domestic emissions in Aotearoa at the scale and pace required to meet the demands of the climate emergency.
The level of ambition in both the indicative budgets and the policies proposed to meet them is far too low and is not consistent with the purposes of the Climate Change Response Act 2002 (the Act) of contributing to the global effort to limit warming to 1.5C.
With the exception of transport, the ERP discussion document indicates a lack of detailed policy proposals or strategies for specific sectors, most notably agriculture.
Unless the final ERP remedies these issues it will not meet the requirements of the Act, specifically, s3(1)(aa) and s5ZG, and we will not meet our climate goals.
This submission was written by LCANZI president Jenny Cooper QC, if you have further questions about it you can contact her at president@lawyersforclimateaction.nz.