The New Zealand Government is consulting on policy proposals that sit across the Government’s five priority areas of its climate strategy and focus on key sectors: energy, transport, agriculture, forestry and waste. This discussion paper sets out how emissions pricing, and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme in particular, will play a central role in their climate change response. 

Generally, the approach outlined in this paper is to support emissions pricing to drive net emissions reductions where it is most effective to do so. 

The document also outlines seven key policies which the Government believes will have the greatest impact on reducing emissions, alongside other actions in each sector. 

1. Increasing renewable energy by reducing the consenting burden through Electrify NZ.  
2. Targeting 10,000 public EV chargers by 2030.   
3. Lowering agricultural emissions by giving farmers the tools to reduce emissions and through fair and sustainable pricing of on-farm agricultural emissions by 2030.
4. Investing in resource recovery through the Waste Minimisation Fund.
5. Improving organic waste and landfill gas capture.
6. Improving public transport.
7. Investigating carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).  

Consultation submissions close 21 August 2024.