Submission in response to proposed changes in NZ ETS Regulations 2025

This submission relates to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) consultation document, Proposed changes to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) regulations 2025. In this document the MfE raises a number of specific issues. But we consider that there are also much more important steps that need to be taken so that we can start reducing our emissions at a significantly more rapid rate with the aim of meeting emissions reduction targets set by the IPCC and others.

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Submission in response to the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill 2024

This submission relates to the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, on which public submissions opened on 26 September 2024. ESR very strongly recommend that the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration not be removed. Instead, we need to be taking very rapid action to reduce our emissions by moving away from the use of fossil fuels.

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Submission in response to proposed changes to NZ Emissions Trading Regulations 2024

In this submission the primary points we cover are steps that can be taken to improve the way the ETS operates, so that it becomes a lot more effective and capable of meeting the
urgent need to reduce our emissions. The possibility of replacing the current ETS with a
simple carbon tax is also covered.
Two other key points we cover are first the need for greater clarity in our net emissions measurements, and second the strong case for introducing a citizen’s dividend, funded from the revenue the Government receives from carbon charges, to compensate people for the rising costs of goods and services that will result from carbon charge increases.

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Submission on the Fast-track Approvals Bill 2024

The Government introduced its “Fast-Track Approvals Bill” to parliament earlier this year, with
purpose to provide a stream-lined decision-making process for infrastructure and development
projects that are considered to have significant regional or national benefit. We acknowledge that
the current process for obtaining consents is time consuming, and so we support the prospect of a
speedier consent process for urgent, beneficial projects (and especially for projects facilitating transition away from the production of plastics, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants) – but we maintain that this ought to be achieved through completing a robust assessment process at an accelerated pace, and not by abandoning well established and due process. We see that this fast-track Bill fails to deliver to any reasonable requirement and so we do not support but strongly oppose
the Bill.

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Submission On The Government Policy Statement On Land Transport 2024

This submission provides feedback on the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 (GPS 2024). GPS 2024 outlines the government’s land transport investment strategy over the next 10 years, the funding available, and where funding should be directed to deliver on this strategy. Our submission provides feedback on the new strategic priorities, identifies inconsistencies which conflict with the stated intent, identifies items that are missing from the policy statement, and items that we support.

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Building For Climate Change

Current scientific advice indicates the key design requirement for the safety of all humanity’s infrastructure and the wellbeing and sustainability of natural ecosystems and species is an 80% reduction of fossil fuel production within two decades.

To meet social & economic needs while phasing out this energy source, we will need to consider the consequential issues of a sustained decline in energy supply and material consumption in all sectors of the economy.

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Meeting The Net-Zero Challenge

The Government’s current proposal is to broadly accept the Climate Change Commission’s budgets from their 31 May 2021 final report, with minor changes related to forestry emissions. But based on the available information, the Commission’s emissions reduction targets for 2030 are far weaker than is required for New Zealand to do its part in meeting the key goal of the Paris Agreement to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees C.

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