Business leaders make collective response to climate consultation
Monday, 29 March 2021
Business leaders make collective response to climate consultation
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) have partnered in their response to the independent Climate Change Commission’s first package of draft advice to Government.
The submission represents the views of around 150 businesses that contribute more than a third of New Zealand’s GDP and are committed to the country’s zero carbon future.
Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Council Mike Burrell says, “The Commission’s work is critical in getting New Zealand on track to achieving our emissions reduction targets. Overall SBC and CLC members believe the Climate Change Commission’s proposals represent an achievable transition pathway that New Zealand can get behind.”
“Our submission has five headline recommendations focusing on the transport, agriculture, and energy sectors. We have also identified aspects of the Commission’s advice that we would like to see reframed or strengthened,” says Mr Burrell.
The key recommendations are: investing in low carbon transport with a roadmap to accelerate fleet transformation; transitioning out process heat; creating an accelerated pathway for methane and nitrogen reduction technologies; building a New Zealand bioeconomy; and incentivising a significant scale-up of energy efficiency across the economy.
Mike Bennetts, Z Energy Chief Executive and Climate Leaders Coalition Convenor says, “Business has a critical role to play in ensuring an equitable transition to a zero carbon future. In 2021 we must set the emissions budgets that will guide our country’s emissions reductions for the next 15 years. We need the Government to move rapidly, putting in place policies that signal a clear and enduring pathway to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future. The transition must be just and inclusive, supporting those most vulnerable and disproportionately affected, to create a positive future for all New Zealanders.
“Our businesses acknowledge that ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option. Now is our moment to be ambitious and put our society and economy on a trajectory towards intergenerational prosperity,” he says.
Chair of SBC’s Advisory Board Karen Silk says, “We need cross-party support for the actions that will result from the Commission’s final report, just as we did for the Zero Carbon Act, so that we can provide the investment certainty business needs, and an affordable pathway for all New Zealanders. We look forward to playing our part and working with Government to make this vision a reality.”
Mr Burrell says that the submission builds on the Briefing to Incoming Government on Climate Action Priorities report that was released by SBC and CLC in October 2020.
“We have engaged extensively with our SBC members and CLC signatories over the last six weeks to develop our submission and we acknowledge and thank them for their input. We also want to acknowledge the work of Dr Rod Carr, the Commissioners and the Commission team and thank them for their engagement during the consultation process.
“We believe that if Government implements the advice of the Commission, including our recommendations, New Zealand will be well-placed to be a zero carbon country by 2050,” says Mr Burrell.
Read SBC and CLC’s joint submission to the Climate Change Commission here.
ENDS
To arrange an interview, or for further information please contact:
Catriona Robertson | Manager Communications | SBC
Phone | 021 242 7936
About SBC
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) is a CEO-led membership organisation with over 100 businesses from all sectors, ambitious for a sustainable New Zealand. Members represent more than $87 billion of collective turnover, 28% of GDP, and nearly 160,000 full-time jobs. Our network gives members unparalleled influence and the ability to take large-scale collective action. SBC is part of the BusinessNZ network and is the New Zealand Global Network partner to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. www.sbc.org.nz
About CLC
The Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) was launched in July 2018 with 60 original signatories to promote business leadership and collective action on climate change. With now over 100 signatories, they account for almost 60% of New Zealand’s gross emissions, around $86 billion of collective turnover and employ almost 200,000 people. Signatory commitments include measuring and publicly reporting their greenhouse gas emissions, setting a public emissions reduction target, and working with suppliers to reduce their emissions. www.climateleaderscoalition.org.nz
