Toyota NZ supports introduction of Zero Carbon Bill

Toyota New Zealand welcomed today’s introduction of the Zero Carbon Bill to Parliament as an urgently-needed piece of legislation to address climate change.

As an original signatory to the Climate Leaders Coalition and long-time member of the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), Toyota NZ is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable business development.

Toyota NZ Chief Executive and chair of the SBC, Alistair Davis, said the Zero Carbon Bill would provide the policy and framework to back the work that businesses around New Zealand are already doing voluntarily.

“As the brand which has nearly a quarter of all vehicles on New Zealand’s road, Toyota takes its responsibilities to customers and the environment very seriously,” he said.

Since the 1970s Toyota has been involved in sustainable solutions and emissions reduction programmes. In 1997, it was the first company in the world to introduce a mass-market self-charging hybrid-electric vehicle – the Prius which intelligently combines petrol and electric power.

Toyota aims to reduce CO2 emissions from new vehicles by 90 per cent by 2050 compared to 2010 levels. To achieve this, Toyota is continuing to develop next-generation vehicles with low or zero CO2 emissions (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles) and encourage their adoption.

Toyota aims to have every model in the Toyota and Lexus line-up available worldwide as either a dedicated electrified model or with an electrified hybrid option by 2025.

“With transport emissions accounting for nearly 20 per cent of all carbon output, we have a large influence on how New Zealand will progress to a zero-carbon economy,” Mr Davis said.

As the Bill will establish long term greenhouse gas reduction targets, Mr Davis called on bipartisan party support in the House as climate change is quickly becoming too important for party politics.

“At Toyota we are on a long-term mission to reduce emissions. We and other businesses in New Zealand need a predictable legislative framework for carbon that gives us the certainty to make investment decisions that, ultimately, will be for the benefit of our country and the planet.”

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