7-Nov-2019: New Zealand commits to being Carbon Neutral by 2050

New Zealand lawmakers approved a bill that commits the country to being carbon neutral by the year 2050. The measure, which passed 119 votes to 1, demonstrates the cross-party support that climate protection has in the Pacific island nation.

The Zero Carbon bill aims to provide a framework to implement climate change policies. It's in line with an international effort under the Paris Agreement to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5° Celsius above preindustrial levels.

New Zealand's bill sets an ambitious target: to reduce all greenhouse gases (except biogenic methane, emitted by plant and animal sources) to net zero by 2050.

The country is well-positioned to hit zero. New Zealand already generates 80% of its electricity from renewables, and that portion will be higher by 2035 as offshore oil and gas are phased out. The government is shifting its fleet to electric vehicles and is working to transition other vehicles to electric, too. The government also has restarted a program to subsidize home insulation and is putting $14.5 billion over the next 10 years into transit, biking and walking infrastructure. In addition, New Zealand has already committed to planting 1 billion trees by 2028.

But that methane loophole is actually a big deal. Methane is different from carbon dioxide. Methane in the atmosphere decays within decades, while CO2 stays in the atmosphere for centuries or longer. But methane is noxious stuff: It traps about 30 times as much heat in the atmosphere as CO2 does.

When it comes to emissions of biogenic methane, New Zealand isn't aiming for net zero. Instead, its goal is to reduce emissions by 10% below 2017 levels by 2030, and then by 24%-47% by 2050.

Agriculture is the largest single source of greenhouse emissions in New Zealand, accounting for 48% of the country's total in 2017. Methane emissions from ruminant animals made up 34% of its total emissions. So by putting those emissions in a separate bucket, New Zealand has made hitting its carbon goals a lot easier.

Ruminant animals such as sheep and cattle release methane as they digest grass and other leaves. There's no easy way to prevent this, but scientists have discovered that adding certain plants to the animals' diet can cut the amount of methane they produce.

Our native forests and wetlands have enormous potential to absorb carbon and protect us from the worst effects of extreme weather. The more we restore wild places and make them resilient to changing climate, the more benefit we'll see.