Climate change action during the transition to a new post-2020 international agreement

Authors: Helen Plume
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2012, Issue N.Z.J.For. 57(1) 2012, pp 4-7, May 2012
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Introduction We are now in the final year of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. This provides an opportunity to take stock of what has happened over the last two decades and to look at where we might be headed up to and after 2020. We have had a decade of implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, firstly involving domestic legislation followed by ratification and then development of New Zealand’s domestic response to its international commitments. New Zealand plays a generally well-respected and effective role internationally on climate change matters. This is in no small part because we have put in place a domestic emissions trading scheme, which is world-leading in its coverage of sectors; because we are non-threatening and take a pragmatic approach to finding solutions; and because we have a credible national system for tracking our greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

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