NZ's oil and gas exploration ban a 'role model' in climate change report

An international report on fossil fuels and climate change has championed New Zealand's decision to ban oil and gas exploration.

New Zealand's announcement in April last year that it would stop issuing permits for exploration off its coasts has been highlighted by the report, authored by five international think-tanks.

They quantify, for the first time, the difference between globally planned coal, oil and gas production and the production levels allowable under internationally agreed temperature levels.

The Production Gap report said that as things stood, the world was set to produce 50 per cent more fossil fuels by 2030 than is consistent with the Paris Agreement's maximum on greenhouse gas levels.

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Under the Paris Agreement, signatories agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to stay below 1.5C. 

Fossil fuels account for over 75 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Natalie Jones, a co-author of the report, said New Zealand was being seen as a role model on how to transition away from fossil fuels, although it could work harder to reduce its coal production also.

Jones, who works at the University of Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), said others were taking notes from New Zealand's 30-year transition plan and its accompanying investment in Taranaki infrastructure and clean energy projects.

"We are not alone in taking action. France, Denmark, Belize and Costa Rica have also partially or totally banned oil and gas exploration and extraction,"Jones said.

"Germany and Spain are phasing out coal mining. Several national and international financial institutions are stopping investments in fossil fuel exploration and production. But many other countries need to follow our lead – and we can help them get there."

Jones said the problem was most countries had focussed on "demand side" policies to combat climate change, such as carbon taxes and incentives for renewable energy.

But while they were pledging to cut their carbon emissions, many countries were still planning to up their production of oil, coal and gas.

"Governments also need to take action on the "supply side" to limit and ultimately phase down fossil fuel production," Jones said.

She said New Zealand's reputation had been enhanced by the recently passed Zero Carbon Bill and a small but important role at last year's UN Climate Conference in Poland. 

At September's Climate Action Summit, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had given Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern the honour of being the first country to speak.

But Jones said New Zealand could do even more, by joining with other fast movers to turn the tide on cutting fossil fuel production.

"This could even take the form of a new international accord, such as a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty or commitments to fossil fuel-free zones," she said.

Also this week, a new study from Leeds University has found that global nitrous oxide emissions have risen substantially since 2009.

Nitrous oxide, which is more damaging than carbon dioxide because it traps more infrared radiation, is primarily related to the use of nitrous oxide fertiliser.

The growth of the gas in the atmosphere was greater than was estimated by the International Panel on Climate Change, Greenpeace said.

In New Zealand, the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser "has increased over 600 per cent since 1990, and this has gone hand in hand with a doubling of dairy cow numbers".

The group claims nitrous oxide emissions now make up around 10 per cent of New Zealand's gross greenhouse gas emissions.

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