A climate change expert from Victoria University of Wellington says New Zealand's decision to ratify the Paris agreement this year shows a welcome commitment to addressing climate change.
Professor Dave Frame, Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute at Victoria University, says the Government announcement today is positive.
“It's good to see an early signal. Coordinated action is vital in solving the climate change problem. By showing enthusiasm for the recent agreement, early ratifiers make it easier for other countries to justify their own commitments.
"Big countries will lead on this issue, globally, because of the importance of scale in climate change, but by making an ambitious commitment early, New Zealand is playing a constructive role in how the world addresses climate change,” Professor Frame says.
“New Zealand's target is quite ambitious: as is clear from comparing the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report with the commitment we are now making.
“If the world as a whole matched New Zealand's target for reducing emissions, we would be broadly on track to meet the agreed target of keeping warming at or below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels."
