Going Green Kiwi Style
New Zealand sells itself as a clean and unspoilt country – ‘100 per cent Pure’ say the adverts. But how green is it really? Carly Moore finds a country striving to meet the climate change challenge
Life in New Zealand is dominated by the weather. Kiwis rely on it for farming, fishing and tourism. They also depend on it for most of their electricity. Sixty per cent of the country’s power comes from hydro and wind , so climate change is going to have a big impact on this small nation of just over four million people.
One of the most significant effects will be on water resources. Rising sea levels will threaten coastal communities, while extreme climatic events such as droughts, floods and erosion are also likely to increase. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, farmers lost around NZ$1 billion (£360 million) due to droughts.The years 1998 and 1999 were also the two warmest on record in the last century. Continuing rises in temperatures would affect fruit growers as well as allowing pests to flourish and create a more welcoming environment for insects such as mosquitoes carrying malaria and dengue fever.Unlike Australia, New Zealand signed the Kyoto Protocol. Its target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, or take financial responsibility for the excess.
But latest figures show the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have actually risen by 21 per cent since 1990 – an average of 1.5 per cent per year. About half of total emissions are produced by the agriculture sector. An attempt to tackle this led to a now infamous 2003 proposal to tax farmers on animal methane emissions – ‘the fart tax’ – which was dropped after widespread opposition.
At current estimates this all adds up to a rather alarming bill of more than £200 million when the Kyoto deadline hits in 2012. New Zealanders are running out of time to reverse the trend.
One of the most significant effects will be on water resources. Rising sea levels will threaten coastal communities, while extreme climatic events such as droughts, floods and erosion are also likely to increase. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, farmers lost around NZ$1 billion (£360 million) due to droughts.The years 1998 and 1999 were also the two warmest on record in the last century. Continuing rises in temperatures would affect fruit growers as well as allowing pests to flourish and create a more welcoming environment for insects such as mosquitoes carrying malaria and dengue fever.Unlike Australia, New Zealand signed the Kyoto Protocol. Its target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, or take financial responsibility for the excess.
But latest figures show the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have actually risen by 21 per cent since 1990 – an average of 1.5 per cent per year. About half of total emissions are produced by the agriculture sector. An attempt to tackle this led to a now infamous 2003 proposal to tax farmers on animal methane emissions – ‘the fart tax’ – which was dropped after widespread opposition.
At current estimates this all adds up to a rather alarming bill of more than £200 million when the Kyoto deadline hits in 2012. New Zealanders are running out of time to reverse the trend.
Something’s got to give
In her annual statement to parliament this year, Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark declared, ‘I believe New Zealand can aim to be the first nation to be truly sustainable – across the four pillars of the economy, society, the environment, and nationhood.’
This vision includes a move towards building a carbon–neutral society; a goal that, unlike Australia, doesn’t involve going nuclear. So what’s the alternative? And just how does the government plan to put its money where its mouth is?Perhaps by practising what it preaches. In a world-leading move, the government recently announced that all 34 of its major ministries and agencies would immediately begin working towards carbon neutrality.
Climate Change Minister David Parker says that: ‘Achieving carbon neutrality from 2012 in the whole of the core public service will demonstrate nationally and internationally New Zealand's commitment to pulling its weight on climate change and creating a sustainable nation.’
It’s a valuable step, but what else are they doing to meet their Kyoto commitments?
This vision includes a move towards building a carbon–neutral society; a goal that, unlike Australia, doesn’t involve going nuclear. So what’s the alternative? And just how does the government plan to put its money where its mouth is?Perhaps by practising what it preaches. In a world-leading move, the government recently announced that all 34 of its major ministries and agencies would immediately begin working towards carbon neutrality.
Climate Change Minister David Parker says that: ‘Achieving carbon neutrality from 2012 in the whole of the core public service will demonstrate nationally and internationally New Zealand's commitment to pulling its weight on climate change and creating a sustainable nation.’
It’s a valuable step, but what else are they doing to meet their Kyoto commitments?
The big carbon sink
Last year the government announced a new initiative to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while providing economic benefits for landowners. Thus, the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative was born.
Excess carbon is disposed of by using forests planted since 1990 on land too steep or badly eroded to grow on. It’s a win-win situation. Landowners get to utilise otherwise unproductive land while accruing forest sink credits which they can sell on the international market. Farmers are thereby encouraged to make money from fighting climate change.
Excess carbon is disposed of by using forests planted since 1990 on land too steep or badly eroded to grow on. It’s a win-win situation. Landowners get to utilise otherwise unproductive land while accruing forest sink credits which they can sell on the international market. Farmers are thereby encouraged to make money from fighting climate change.
But is it enough?
Green Party co–leader Jeanette Fitzsimmons doesn’t think so. Her party believes New Zealand could be doing more – much more. It believes the government should be making more effort to persuade the US and Australia to join Kyoto. It also wants New Zealand to adopt more renewable energy.
The great wind debate
The biggest growth in emissions in New Zealand comes primarily from the energy sector, which has grown by almost 33.8 per cent since 1990. Most of this increase comes from transport and electricity generation. While hydro accounts for a large percentage of the country’s power, fossil-fuelled electricity (such as natural gas and coal) has been increasing.
There is another solution. Wind turbines provide power without creating greenhouse gases, pollution or radioactive waste. They never run out of fuel and the price of wind will never rise. Estimates show that wind power has the potential to provide New Zealand with 20 per cent of its electricity.It’s an exciting prospect. Yet there’s still a lot of opposition. A wind farm proposed in Makara, just outside windy Wellington, has the potential to be one of the biggest and most productive in the world. It has the capacity to power 110,000 homes.
But opposition from local residents and environmental groups have delayed the project by two years. The locals aren’t impressed by the 70-turbine proposal. They don’t like the noise. They don’t like the look of them. They’re worried it might harm birds.
There’s no doubt that these are all valid concerns, which need addressing. However, New Zealand must embrace alternative energy options as the demand for clean energy grows.
New Zealanders are waking up to the idea that climate change is real. A survey recently conducted by the NZ Herald newspaper found three in four people believe they need to make lifestyle changes to reduce global warming.
There is another solution. Wind turbines provide power without creating greenhouse gases, pollution or radioactive waste. They never run out of fuel and the price of wind will never rise. Estimates show that wind power has the potential to provide New Zealand with 20 per cent of its electricity.It’s an exciting prospect. Yet there’s still a lot of opposition. A wind farm proposed in Makara, just outside windy Wellington, has the potential to be one of the biggest and most productive in the world. It has the capacity to power 110,000 homes.
But opposition from local residents and environmental groups have delayed the project by two years. The locals aren’t impressed by the 70-turbine proposal. They don’t like the noise. They don’t like the look of them. They’re worried it might harm birds.
There’s no doubt that these are all valid concerns, which need addressing. However, New Zealand must embrace alternative energy options as the demand for clean energy grows.
New Zealanders are waking up to the idea that climate change is real. A survey recently conducted by the NZ Herald newspaper found three in four people believe they need to make lifestyle changes to reduce global warming.
She'll be right
The people of New Zealand are famous for their ‘she’ll be right’ attitude. They’re also famous for their ingenuity – a MacGyver-like ability to turn a glob of putty and a piece of number eight wire into an explosive device. They have the attitude, the ideas and the natural resources – wind, water, sun and sea – to lead the way in alternative energy production.
If Helen Clark stands by her words, New Zealand could be showing the rest of the world just what it’s capable of. Let’s hope she does.
If Helen Clark stands by her words, New Zealand could be showing the rest of the world just what it’s capable of. Let’s hope she does.
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