Our Government has just taken the next big steps in our plan to meet the climate challenge, as part of our work to protect New Zealand’s environment and economy.
Last week, we announced that we’re partnering with BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investors in climate infrastructure and clean technology, to launch a $2 billion fund with the goal of making New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to reach 100% renewable electricity.
This fund will help to accelerate clean energy projects like solar, wind, green hydrogen and battery storage, and attract more investment in New Zealand as a climate leader.
I’m really excited about what this means for Kiwi ingenuity in renewable energy. It shows that our ambitious climate targets have the world’s attention – and that they’re good for the environment, good for the economy, and will help create highly skilled jobs.
With countries around the world experiencing the impacts of climate change on a daily basis, it’s never been more urgent to invest in technology that will help address the climate crisis, and New Zealand is well-positioned to be a home for that investment.
Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods were also reminders that we need to speed up climate action, and the fund will supercharge investments in clean technology that might not otherwise have happened.
As a Government, we’ve taken more action on climate change in just the last six years than all other governments combined. We passed the Zero Carbon Act, made electric cars more affordable and are experiencing one of the highest uptakes of EVs anywhere in the world, and we banned offshore oil and gas exploration to send a clear market signal that our future needs to be renewable, just to name a few examples.
Last week, we also announced plans to fast-track solar and wind generation projects that would produce more power than the Clyde Dam – the country’s third largest hydro dam – at a fraction of the time, cost and impact on the environment.
All of these actions mean that New Zealand is now bending the curve on emissions with climate pollution falling through 2020, 2021 and 2022, with the December 2022 quarter delivering the lowest figure in at least nine years.
Now, we need to keep going. We can’t opt out of the effects of climate change, so we can’t opt out of taking action. A low-emissions future is achievable for New Zealand, and with a Chris Hipkins Government we’re well on our way.
