Shaw JamesMINISTERIAL STATEMENTSClimate Change Response Act 2002—Statutory Emissions Reduction PlanHon JAMES SHAW (Minister of Climate Change): I wish to make a ministerial statement relating to the emissions reduction plan. Yesterday the Government released Te hau mārohi ki anamata: Towards a productive sustainable and inclusive economy. This is Aotearoa New Zealand's first statutory emissions reduction plan under the Climate Change Response Act 2002 as amended by the zero carbon bill in 2019. As a result of the amendment the Climate Change Response Act has as its purpose to provide a framework by which New Zealand can develop and implement clear and stable change policies that (1) contribute to the global effort under the Paris agreement to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and (2) allow New Zealand to prepare for and adapt to the effects of climate change. The zero carbon amendment bill passed unanimously which is a great credit to parliamentarians across the House. That bipartisan accord means that New Zealanders do now enjoy a sense of certainty and predictability about the overall framework that guides climate policy over the coming decades. That includes the commitment to the 1.5 degree temperature threshold and the long-term emissions reductions targets to 2050. Following the House's strong bipartisan endorsement last week this also now includes the first three emissions budgets that act as stepping stones towards those 2050 targets. In total there will be six emissions budgets and emissions reductions plans to take us out to 2050. Each budget will act as a stepping stone to lower emissions and each plan will include the necessary policies and strategies to meet that budget. Our first emissions budget requires us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by a further 11.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the course of the next four years. Our strategy to achieve this and to lay the groundwork for the second and third emissions budgets is based on five principles. It starts with what we need to do to play our part in a worldwide effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius so that current and future generations are protected from the floods fires droughts and storms of a changing climate. That flows into our Tiriti o Waitangi commitments and empowering Māori to respond to the particular risks and opportunities for Māori and the Māori economy alongside an equitable transition that brings everyone with us and leaves no one behind and working with nature to solve the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis together. Those considerations then drive the ultimate outcome which is a productive sustainable and inclusive economy that works for everyone.The challenge that we have in front of us is as urgent and as important as it has ever been. The science tells us that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels gives us the best chance of avoiding the worst effects. As temperatures have already risen more than 1 degree we must act now to prevent further atmospheric warming and the catastrophes that accompany it. I acknowledge that all parties in this Parliament have different policy prescriptions for reaching our shared goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But now that we have a plan the task for our Government is to make that happen and the task for all of us in this House is to make the next plan even better. Thank you Mr Speaker.