How effective could New Zealand be internationally?
New Zealand produces 0.3 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in this figure would have very little effect, directly, on the world’s climate.
What New Zealand can do is help persuade the big players in the global scene to act but it must be recalled that we are a tiny part of the complexity of international conferences and processes on climate change.
In principle, New Zealand would wish to have our house in order, and to have something to offer to other countries. For example, New Zealand has been carving out a leading role in researching methane emissions from livestock and ways of reducing them.
In any event, our credibility is at stake because New Zealand has one of the world’s highest emissions per capita (12th highest in the world) and the fastest rates of emissions growth, at least in some sectors - a very good and practical reason to reduce emissions.