Minister requests advice to inform the Government’s global emissions commitment

We have been asked to provide advice to the Government to help inform Aotearoa New Zealand's second Nationally Determined Contribution.

Homepage News Minister requests advice to inform the Government’s global emissions commitment

13 October 2023

We have been asked to provide advice to the Government to help inform Aotearoa New Zealand’s second Nationally Determined Contribution – the country’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from 2031-2035.

This request from the Minister of Climate Change was made under section 5K of the Climate Change Response Act, which allows the Government of the day to request advice on specific topics at any time, following consultation with the Commission on the Terms of Reference.

Every country needs to set a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the global average temperature increase to well below 2 degrees and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s second NDC must be set by 2025 and will be the country’s international commitment to reducing climate pollution from 2031–2035.

The Commission will proactively engage with relevant stakeholders in developing this advice. The final advice is to be provided to the Minister of Climate Change by 31 December 2024.

The Climate Change Response Act also requires the Commission to publish the Terms of Reference as soon as practicable once the request has been made. The Board of the Commission noted the request at a Special Board meeting held on 12 October 2023.  We are satisfied the Minister’s request meets the requirements of the Act.

We have sought guidance from the Public Service Commission about progressing this request within the current timeframe and they have advised that we should act in line with our usual process and legislated mandate.

The Commission continues our commitment to providing independent, evidence-based advice to the Government of the day to guide Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a thriving, climate-resilient, low emissions future.

A copy of Minister Shaw's request to the Commission, the Terms of Reference for the request, and the letter from the Commission accepting the Terms of Reference are available below. Updates about our work on this will be published on our website.

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