How effectively does environmental policy in your country protect and preserve the sustainability of natural resources and environmental quality?
10
9
Environmental policy goals are ambitious and effectively implemented as well as monitored within and across most relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
8
7
6
Environmental policy goals are mainly ambitious and effectively implemented and are monitored within and across some of the relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
5
4
3
Environmental policy goals are neither particularly ambitious nor are they effectively implemented and coordinated across relevant policy sectors.
The performance of New Zealand’s environmental policy is mixed. In the 2021 Environmental Performance Index, New Zealand is ranked 19th out of 180 countries (Environmental Performance Index 2021). The Climate Action Tracker, which assesses countries’ performance in terms of meeting their Paris Agreement commitments, rates New Zealand as “highly insufficient” (Climate Action Tracker 2021). Many of New Zealand’s environmental problems stem from the country’s large agricultural sector, which accounts for more than half of merchandise exports – in particular, through the export of meat and dairy products. Methane and nitrous oxide gases created by farming make up around half of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions (Hanco*ck 2021), while road transport contributes 37% to long-life gases (Climate Commission 2021). In addition, the booming meat and dairy sector has taken a toll on the country’s freshwater resources. According to a 2021 report by Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA), nearly two-thirds of monitored rivers were “ecologically impaired” (Brownlie 2021). New Zealand’s biodiversity is also facing a crisis. According to the latest National Report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 4,000 species are at risk in New Zealand – including 90% of the country’s seabirds, 76% of its freshwater fish, 84% of its reptiles and 46% of its plants (Department of Conservation 2019). In November 2019, the government passed the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Act that set new domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for New Zealand. These include: reducing net emissions of all greenhouse gases (except biogenic methane) to zero by 2050; reducing by 2050 emissions of biogenic methane to anywhere from 24% to 47% below 2017 levels; establishing a system of emissions budgets to act as stepping stones toward the long-term target; requiring the government to develop and implement policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation; establishing a new, independent Climate Change Commission to provide expert advice and monitoring to help keep successive governments on track to meeting long-term goals. Some elements of the 2020 COVID-19 budget were crafted to respond to environmental sustainability challenges. In particular, the Labour-led government pledged $1.1 billion for weed and pest control, biodiversity enhancement, and regional restoration projects, including wetlands and waterways – projects that will help to sequester carbon emissions. New transport funding went entirely to rail, with more than $1 billion in capital expenditure for renewing and upgrading existing networks. However, the budget was criticized for its short-term vision, failing to set New Zealand on a course toward a low-emissions economy (Hall 2020). The 2021 budget funneled less money than previously toward environmental causes. The most notable spending items include $300 million to accelerate investment in low-carbon technology and $67.4 million to implement the Carbon Neutral Government Program (Neilson 2021). Citations: Climate Action Tracker (2021) https://climateactiontracker.org/ Climate Commission Draft Advice Report (2021) https://ccc-production-media.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/evidence/advice-report-DRAFT-1ST-FEB/Evidence-CH-04b-Reducing-emissions-Transport-and-buildings-20-Jan-2021.pdf Department of Conservation (2019) New Zealand’s Sixth National Report to the United Nations Environmental Performance Index (2021) https://epi.yale.edu/ Hall (2020) “Budget delivers on one crisis, but leaves climate change for another day.” RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/416807/budget-delivers-on-one-crisis-but-leaves-climate-change-for-another-day Hanco*ck (2021) “Can NZ really meet its methane emissions targets?” RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/whoseatingnewzealand/447690/can-nz-really-meet-its-methane-emissions-targets Neilson (2021) “Budget 2021: Climate change, emissions, environment, Antarctica’s Scott Base funding.” New Zealand Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/budget-2021-climate-change-emissions-environment-antarcticas-scott-base-funding/PDM4WYXP4EXQV4J4ZTOG3BMZTI/
Brownlie (2021) “Two-thirds of New Zealand’s rivers ecologically impaired - LAWA report.” Newshub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/09/two-thirds-of-new-zealand-s-rivers-ecologically-impaired-lawa-report.html
Convention on Biological Diversity. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/about-doc/role/international/nz-6th-national-report-convention-biological-diversity.pdf
