New Zealand’s Bold Plan To Tackle Global Warming

New Zealand is a country that offers some of the most breathtaking and spectacular scenery on this planet.  It’s home to some seriously adrenalin packed activities with a backdrop that could make anyone wide-eyed in awe.  So it’s encouraging to see that the New Zealand government is putting a bold foot forward to tackle global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The New Zealand government has set the following targets:

• by 2025, 90% of our electricity generation will be from renewable sources
• by 2040, our per capita transport greenhouse gas emissions will be half those in 2007
• we will be one of the first countries in the world to widely deploy electric vehicles
• we will be a world leader in agricultural emissions research and in technologies for reducing emissions
• by 2020, we will have achieved a net increase in forest area of 250,000ha from 2007 levels.

According to the Sunday Star Times article, the new proposals for New Zealand’s carbon cap and trade policies is both highly ambitious and reasonably practical – that’s the positive side.  These targets bring “all sectors of the economy and all types of greenhouse gas into a reduction programme.”  The proposal also includes agriculture into its long-term plans, the county’s biggest single source of emissions due to large-scale farming.

The article does go on to discuss the difficulties that will be faced trying to meet these targets, however, with so many nations treading slowly and cautiously in setting their goals for global warming, it was nice to see that one of them has dared to be bold and courageous.  Regardless of whether the targets are met or not, the higher you aim, the more you achieve.  I don’t think those that made it to the top of Everest, focused their aspirations on Base Camp – nothing against Base Camp, I’d be delighted if I made it that far.