Countries That Can Increase Their Ambition
13 June 2013
ECO is anxiously awaiting New Zealand's expected pledge by Warsaw. With that in mind, it seemed timely to revisit an article from last year's "CAN Collectibles" series on countries that can increase their ambition:
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New Zealand |
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National term of endearment/greeting |
Bro/Mate |
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Annual alcohol consumption |
9.6 litres per person per year |
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Annual cheese consumption |
5.7 kilograms per person per year |
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Best things about New Zealand |
Beautiful environment – some of it still unspoiled. Maori Culture. Wine |
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Worst things about New Zealand |
Wanting to be Australia. Addiction to cars. Pathological need to spoil the unspoiled bits |
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Things you didn’t know |
New Zealand isn't all clean and green. New Zealand is the first country in the world to catalogue its entire known living and fossil life from 530 million years ago to today |
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Existing Unconditional pledge on the table |
It's all conditional, which means the unconditional pledge is to do nothing |
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Existing Conditional pledge (upper end) |
10-20% reduction in net emissions below 1990 gross emissions levels by 2020 |
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Next step to increase ambition by COP18 |
This year: Submit a meaningful QELRO that would require a 40% reduction by 2020, produce a low carbon development plan, tell us when gross emissions will peak, listen to the voices of progressive business leaders and agricultural scientists who can help us get there rather than the usual head-in-the-sand lobby groups, and get a new attitude |
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Rationale |
Untapped low cost abatement opportunities. The potential economic benefits of low carbon economic development. Making good on the promise to create a low carbon development plan |
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Extra rationale |
A clear conscience |