Ministry Statements and Speeches 2007

United Nations General Assembly, Informal Thematic Debate: Climate Change as a Global Challenge

Statement by New Zealand Permanent Representative HE Ms Rosemary Banks, 1 August 2007

Madame President,

Yesterday we were reminded by John Holdren of the undeniable and perilous trends of projected climate change and of the real effects already being felt. We have also learned from the IPCC and other expert sources that solutions are achievable, given technology, adequate investment, and sound policies. But the responsibility for taking action, as the Secretary-General said yesterday, is one that we all need to shoulder. As members of the UNFCCC process, we need to do everything we can to make sure that the ‘Bali Road Map’ becomes a reality.

Yesterday’s panellists pressed home the need for action on both the global and domestic levels. For our part, New Zealand is working constructively on both fronts.

Internationally, we are supporting negotiations under Article 3.9 of the Kyoto Protocol. We are also working towards a more comprehensive global agreement post 2012, which should include other important issues such as deforestation and transfer and deployment of technology. In addition, we are making a special effort to contribute to finding ways of reducing emissions from pastoral agriculture through an international research partnership which we hope to launch formally later this year. Further, we are including support for climate change policies and measures in our development assistance programmes in vulnerable countries, especially in the Pacific. This helps ensure, as Sir Nicholas Stern said yesterday, that economic development and climate change policies are not seen as a “horse race” but rather as complementary.

At the national level in New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark has underlined the importance of sustainability as a vision guiding government policy. Writing in the June issue of the UN Chronicle, Prime Minister Clark noted that New Zealand aims to be the first country in the world to be truly sustainable across the four pillars of the economy, society, the environment and culture.

For climate change specifically, there is a range of domestic policy development underway:

• First, we are investigating an emissions trading system as a policy option to address greenhouse gas emissions. The design includes all of the greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol and all sectors. We expect decisions on the nature of the scheme will be taken by the Government before the end of 2007.
• Second, we have a draft New Zealand Energy Strategy, setting out the government’s vision for New Zealand’s energy future and the broad directions by which this could be achieved.
• We are updating the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, which sets out the government’s policies and actions on energy efficiency and renewables.
• Land use, forestry and agriculture policies are especially important for us. Almost half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions arise from the agriculture sector - in particular from our extensive pastoral livestock systems. These areas are closely interrelated in the New Zealand economy, so the pricing of greenhouse gas emissions needs to be addressed across these sectors.
• We have established a Sustainable Farming Fund for community level projects. These aim to identify and implement practical measures for the long-term sustainability of land and water resources. Case studies on demonstration farms are being used to change attitudes and land management practices.
• We have also set up an adaptation work programme which focuses on partnerships with local government, engineers, the insurance sector and the agriculture sector. This is already resulting in better “climate-proofing” of infrastructure projects. For instance, local councils are building projected climate change into design criteria for stormwater infrastructure to reduce the impact of high rainfall events that are projected to increase in frequency and intensity. The agency responsible for New Zealand's state highway system is building projected climate change into design criteria for bridges and culverts. The government is updating guidance material for these groups using the latest IPCC information from the 4th Assessment Report.
• Finally, increased funding has been allocated for climate change modelling to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on New Zealand.

Madame President,

These are just some of many examples of action New Zealand is taking.

We have been interested today to hear the steps that other Member States are similarly taking. We thank you Madame President, for setting up this thematic debate, and to the Secretary General, his Special Envoys and the panellists for their contributions to it. New Zealand looks forward to the September session and the Secretary-General’s High Level Event.

Thank you, Madame President.

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