Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill

One of the biggest and most important pieces of legislation I will be working on in Parliament this year is the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill.  I’m very excited about it because it gets us underway with responding effectively to climate change, so that our children and our children’s children have a decent world to grow up in.

The bill will set up a Climate Change Commission, a committee of experts who will have the major task of setting greenhouse gas targets for the country.  It will be the Commission’s job to monitor and report on how well we are doing with reducing emissions, and make recommendations to government about how our targets should be achieved.  For example, it might recommend a move away from petrol and diesel fuelled cars, towards using electricity and hydrogen instead.  The government would then be responsible for making that happen.

The Commission will make sure that we stay on track by setting the amount that greenhouse gases need to reduce within five year ‘emission budget periods’. If we achieve our goal, and similar goals for other greenhouse gases, by 2050 New Zealand will no longer be contributing to world global temperature increases.

To find out more go to https://www.parliament.nz and search for the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Bill. You can read it online or download a PDF which includes a user-friendly introduction.
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I chair the Environment Select Committee which will hear the submissions on the bill. I hope that you will make time to have your say. It’s easy - just go to https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/.  
Even just stating, “I support this bill” (or not) is a great way to contribute to this important legislation.
 
Deborah Russell, MP for New Lynn