Enigin Update - Calls for Change in New Zealand's Energy Efficiency Strategy
ENVIRONMENT and Conservation Organisations (ECO) called today for the New Zealand Government to urgently revise their Energy Strategy and address decarbonising the country’s energy production and use.
The ECO was responding after the release by New Zealand’s Coal Action Network of the government’s almost complete Energy Strategy and National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy.
Cath Wallace, ECO co-chair, argued that New Zealand’s strategy has to be amended to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Wallace claims the current strategy places far too much emphasis on oil and gas exploration and coal development. “The strategy alarmingly includes a reference to the exploitation of marine methane hydrates and lignite: both are disastrous ideas.
“The government should adopt a strategy that moves New Zealand towards a low carbon economy and actually reduces our greenhouse gas emissions.
“New Zealand needs to urgently move away from its reliance on fossil fuels including oil and coal.”
Wallace added that New Zealand has an opportunity to get ahead of our trading partners with investment in renewables and energy efficiency. “Going down the extractive path leads New Zealand on an outmoded high carbon development track delaying the re-gearing of the economy.
Wallace highlighted the recently released 2010 International Energy Agency (IEA) review recommendations “to facilitate the emergence of a low-carbon economy.”
The IEA criticised the absence from New Zealand’s draft policy of defined clear objective to achieve the measures in their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy. The IEA went on to recommend “priority to enhance energy efficiency in the commercial buildings, industry and the transport sectors.”
Wallace claimed that, “New Zealand stood to pay dearly for this failure in the future,” environmentally and financially.
Enigin Distributors in New Zealand can help the commercial, industrial and public sectors to gain control of their energy use through installing energy saving technology from Enigin - reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Picture by krug100 [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
