ECO is anxiously awaiting New Zealand’s expected pledge by Warsaw. With that in mind, it seemed timely to revisit an article from last year’s “CAN Collectibles” series on countries that can increase their ambition:
Countries That Can Increase Their Ambition
New Zealand
National term of endearment/greeting: Bro/Mate
Annual alcohol consumption: 9.6 litres per person per year
Annual cheese consumption: 5.7 kilograms per person per year
Best things about New Zealand: Beautiful environment – some of it still unspoiled. Maori Culture. Wine
Worst things about New Zealand: Wanting to be Australia. Addiction to cars. Pathological need to spoil the unspoiled bits
Things you didn’t know: New Zealand isn’t all clean and green. New Zealand is the first country in the world to catalogue its entire known living and fossil life from 530 million years ago to today
Existing Unconditional pledge on the table: It’s all conditional, which means the unconditional pledge is to do nothing
Existing Conditional pledge (upper end): 10-20% reduction in net emissions below 1990 gross emissions levels by 2020
Next step to increase ambition by COP18: This year: Submit a meaningful QELRO that would require a 40% reduction by 2020, produce a low carbon development plan, tell us when gross emissions will peak, listen to the voices of progressive business leaders and agricultural scientists who can help us get there rather than the usual head-in-the-sand lobby groups, and get a new attitude
Rationale: Untapped low cost abatement opportunities. The potential economic benefits of low carbon economic development. Making good on the promise to create a low carbon development plan
Extra rationale: A clear conscience