The Zero Carbon Act commits New Zealand to cut methane emissions between 24 and 47 percent below 2017 levels by 2050. The government has weakened the target to 14-24 percent, saying it is investing to speed up the development and rollout of methane-cutting tools, which seems more a reason for keeping the targets
The Zero Carbon Act was passed six years ago with cross-party support committing the country to bring carbon dioxide levels to net zero and cut methane emissions by at least 24 percent by 2050 and more optimistically as high as 47 percent.
More than 40 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from farm animals, in the form of the potent but short-lived methane.
The government has adopted an idea promoted by agricultural lobby groups that it is sufficient to keep methane’s contribution to warming steady at the current level and is citing a Methane Science Review released in 2024.
James Renwick is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University in Wellington. He writes in The Conversation that the decision is a major backward step that will either lead to more warming or force other sectors to make steeper cuts.
It also goes against the goal of keeping warming at 1.5°C, entrenched in New Zealand’s law and recently upheld by a landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice, which found even countries that leave the Paris Agreement are not exempt from international legal requirements to act in a manner consistent with that ambition, says Professor Renwick.
“We can currently adapt to climate change pressures, in most places, most of the time. But every tenth of a degree of warming makes that adaptation harder, and at some point we will no longer be able to do so.”
