Climate Change Commission 2021 Draft Advice

The New Zealand Climate Change Commission has issued draft advice in 2021 on how New Zealand can reduce its carbon emissions. The document states that "now is the time for Aotearoa to take further steps to align its actions with its targets to reduce emissions. As a country we should use only our fair share of the remaining global carbon budget – the greenhouse gases we can emit and still limit warming. If we act now, we can create a thriving, climate-resilient and low emissions Aotearoa".

 

The Commission has made recommendations of what it believes to be achievable, affordable and socially acceptable pathways for Aotearoa to take. Key recommendations that interest TAEC are about the cessation of the use of natural gas in buildings, with more of a future focus on electric water heating (including solar thermodynamic). These can be found in the report on page 60: 

 

"Our path assumes all new space heating or hot water systems installed after 2025 in new buildings are either electric or biomass. For existing buildings, the phase out begins in 2030. No further natural gas connections to the grid, or bottled LPG connections occur after 2025. This would allow time for a steady transition, to be on track for a complete transition away from using natural gas in buildings by 2050"

 

The full report (188 pages) is available on the Climate Change Commission's website. The Commission is encouraging feedback via a formal consultation process, currently running until 14 March 2021.