Collaborative approach to just transition essential

  • Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister

Collaboration and partnership between regions, iwi, businesses and government is what will build a resilient and sustainable economy according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who is visiting Taranaki today.

The Prime Minister is meeting with local government leaders, energy industry representatives and workers about the Government’s plans for a just transition to a low emissions economy.

“We hear loud and clear that the Taranaki region and the energy sector need certainty, stability and encouragement as we move towards a clean energy future, and we will be working closely with them to provide this where we can,” says Jacinda Ardern.

“Local Taranaki Mayors have suggested that a Just Transitions Summit hosted in Taranaki would be useful to harness the best ideas from New Zealand and abroad.  I think this is an excellent idea and have asked MBIE to work closely with local leaders to shape this up over coming months.”

The government has a range of ways it can work with Taranaki and the energy sector – for example our Provincial Growth Fund and Green Investment Fund will invest millions of dollars into new jobs and industries in regions that currently rely on fossil fuels. We are committed to helping to accelerate our collective planning for transition, building the required evidence and business cases, and mobilising co-funding.

“I want to reiterate that whatever we do in this space will be done collaboratively.

“We’ve talked a lot recently about making a ‘just transition’ to achieve a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy. For this to be a reality we need an active partnership between central government, councils, Maori, communities and business.

“The regions hold the keys to their future. The knowledge, experience, innovation and ideas are all out there. Here in Taranaki we can see it through the Tapuae Roa action plan, which sets out a bold and strategic pathway for the future and which the Government has invested in. This is evident in many other regions too,” says Jacinda Ardern

To underpin this work the Government has established a dedicated Just Transitions Unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which will focus on working with partners to develop plans, and manage the transition to a low emissions economy.

“We want to do this planning together, and a key part of the new Unit’s role is to work with communities to find the best ways the Government can support this process. We are committed to having personnel on the ground in Taranaki to work directly in the community.

“As we collaborate with regions we will also be consulting New Zealanders on how we can transition to a low emissions economy equitably as part of the Zero Carbon Bill consultation, which is part of our work on mitigating climate change. We are playing our part in a great future for our regions, New Zealand, and the planet,” says Jacinda Ardern.