$6.7m for climate change, sustainability

The Government has announced an extra $6.7 million a year for research on how increase sustainability and tackle climate change.

Making the announcement, Prime Minister Helen Clark said $4 million would go towards a contestable Low Carbon Energy Technologies Fund.

The fund aimed to bring forward the use of alternative energy sources such as biofuels, biomass, solar energy, windpower and low carbon fossil fuels.

A further $2.5 million a year would go towards research to help manage the likely effects of climate change on New Zealand, such as a predicted increase in storms, floods and drought in some areas.

Another $200,000 would go towards researching the effects of pest control on carbon storage in native forests. The research was aimed at identifying the best places to manage pests to increase carbon storage.

- NZPA