NZ unveils transport reforms to combat emissions

New Zealand will decarbonize its public buses by 2035 and introduce a law this year to import clean cars to cut emissions and fuel costs, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday, as the country pushes for a carbon neutral target by 2050.

The government will also mandate lower emitting bio-fuels across its transport sector and buy only zero-emissions public transport buses from 2025.

“Tackling climate change is a priority for the government and remains a core part of our COVID recovery plan. We can create jobs and economic opportunities while reducing our emissions, so it’s win-win for our economy and climate,” the prime minister said.

Ardern, who returned to power in October in the biggest election victory for her center-left Labour Party in half a century, had called climate change the “nuclear-free moment of our generation.”

“This will be an ongoing area of action, but we are moving now to implement key election promises,” she said, adding the government would get more advice from its climate commission mid-year.

The government will introduce a law this year to import only low-emission cars to prevent up to 3 million tons of emissions by 2040.

And it will consider incentives to help make people switch to clean cars.

New Zealand last month declared a climate emergency with a promise its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025.

It has ordered government agencies to measure and report emissions and offset any they can’t cut by 2025.

Nearly half New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane.

Transport makes up the second highest amount.