Have your say on international climate guidelines

Hon JAMES SHAW

Minister for Climate Change

14 March 2018

  MEDIA STATEMENT

Have your say on international climate change guidelines

The Government is inviting input as it sets the priorities for New Zealand at international climate change negotiations.

At Paris in 2015, 174 countries, plus the European Union, committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise this Century to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

At the end of this year (2-14 December), international negotiators meet in Katowice, Poland, for the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The purpose of COP24 is to work out the guidelines for how countries work together to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

From today, New Zealanders are invited to have their say on what they think New Zealand’s stance on those guidelines should be.

“Tackling climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our time,” says the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw.

“I’ve been clear that New Zealand will show leadership on climate change on the world stage, which is why we want to refresh our approach to international climate negotiations, and to hear from you about what you think is important in those negotiations.

“We need to lead by example at home and we also need to be clear about what we’re working towards at the international negotiating table.

“Having signed up to the Paris Agreement, the next step is to agree on guidance for countries as they go about implementing their national contributions to reducing greenhouse gases and limiting temperature rise, and that is what will happen in Katowice in December,” Mr Shaw says.

“There are a number of areas New Zealand has focused on already, including transparency, effective mitigation, integrity of carbon markets, agriculture, as well as gender and indigenous people’s issues,” he says.

Public submissions can be made by clicking here for more details.

Submissions are due by 3 April.