7. Question No. 7—Climate ChangeSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura) to the Minister of Climate ChangeQuestion No. 7—Climate Change7. STUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura) to the Minister of Climate Change: Will New Zealand fulfil all of its obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieve its 2030 target to reduce emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels?Hon JAMES SHAW (Minister of Climate Change): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'll answer the first part of the question in a minute. I wanted to say first that—in reference to the second part of the question—there are a number of ways to achieve that target. The first is that we would reduce our domestic emissions; the second is to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the form of forestry; and the third is to use international units that have environmental integrity. This Government is absolutely committed to achieving that target as was the previous National Government that set the target in the first place. In answer to the first part of the question there are four primary obligations under the Paris Agreement. They are to have a nationally determined contribution (NDC) and to report progress towards it—we do have a nationally determined contribution and we are regularly reporting progress towards it. I've also asked the Climate Change Commission for advice on whether the existing NDC is consistent with the 1½ degree pathway and that may lead to a revision to the NDC next year. The second obligation is to make and carry out plans to adapt to the effects of climate change. We have recently published a national climate change risk assessment. We're developing in response to that a national adaptation plan and I intend to introduce an adaptation bill into the House in the term of this Parliament. The third obligation is that as a developed country we should provide finance to assist developing countries both with mitigation and adaptation. New Zealand has committed to delivering at least $300 million in climate-related support from 2019 to 2022 and we are well on track to meeting that commitment.Stuart Smith: Does he agree with James Shaw leader of the Green Party when he said Using international units was a costly way of buying our way out of our obligations"; and if so will we meet our 2030 target without using international credits?Hon JAMES SHAW: Yes I do. The previous Government when they set up the nationally determined contribution in 2016 modelled that up to 85 percent of a nationally determined contribution would be met with offshore units. And of course the member will remember that at the time there was also some controversy about the fact that there were what was known as dodgy hot air units floating around inside the New Zealand system as a result of changes to the emissions trading scheme that that Government had introduced. In fact most of the work that this Government did in the last term on the emissions trading scheme was designed to ensure that that could never happen again. It is our intention to meet the target to the maximum extent by domestic action. When the NDC was introduced there was a shortfall of 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gases that would have to be met offshore. We've managed to lower that according to the most recent projections to a gap of about 106 million tonnes and we will be introducing further policies next year to reduce that gap even further.Stuart Smith: Does he agree with James Shaw leader of the Green Party when he said New Zealand's Paris target was "woefully inadequate"; and if so will he submit a new target as requested of all parties by the end of 2020?Hon JAMES SHAW: I did ask the Climate Change Commission for advice on whether our nationally determined contribution is consistent with a pathway for keeping under 1½ degrees of global warming above pre-industrial levels. The reason I ask that is because I agree with James Shaw the co-leader of the Green Party about the inadequacy. But we do want to take the best scientific and economic advice that we have on that. Unfortunately because we were only able to set up the commission a year ago that advice won't be available to us until May of next year; so we won't be submitting a new NDC at the end of this year. But if there is a revision as a result of the advice then that will be lodged before COP 26 in Glasgow next year.Stuart Smith: Why after three years in Government if he believes our target is not ambitious enough has he not increased it; and why doesn't he have New Zealand on track to meet its existing target?Hon JAMES SHAW: Well we have had a lot of work to do to repair the damage that was caused by the previous National Government in their nine years in office because we had—that Government when it lodged that target had absolutely no plan to achieve that target and I would imagine a little later on today we're going to hear a great deal from the Opposition about empty statements and commitments with no action behind it. And I would just ask the members of the Opposition to reflect on what they did to meet the target that they set because the answer to that is absolutely nothing.Stuart Smith: Is the declaration of a climate change emergency a last-gasp attempt to be invited to the UN top table on climate in Glasgow? Hon JAMES SHAW: Well my understanding is that we have actually received an invitation and the Prime Minister is considering a response.Hon Stuart Nash: Does the Minister in terms of decarbonising our society support a wood-first building policy for State sector construction and will he be encouraging the private sector to follow suit especially if they want State sector tenants?Hon JAMES SHAW: Well my understanding is that Cabinet has recently committed to ensuring that Government buildings are built to the maximum extent possible out of the most sustainable materials available. Of course as we well know wood is one of the most—if not the most—sustainable building materials available at the moment."