Minister Parata to attend APEC Energy Ministerial conference and APEC Women and the Economy summit

The Acting Minister of Energy and Resources and the Minister of Women's Affairs, Hekia Parata, will represent the New Zealand Government at the APEC Energy Ministerial Conference and the APEC Women and the Economy Summit in San Francisco next week.

Ms Parata will attend two Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) energy meetings. On September 12 she will attend the Energy Security Policy Roundtable which will discuss the impact of energy security and technology on economic growth in the region.

"New Zealand supports efforts to boost energy security in the APEC region, through energy efficiency and initiatives that reduce demand on fossil fuels," says Ms Parata.

"New Zealand is already one of world's leading countries in renewable energy with the second highest levels in the OECD, behind Iceland.

"Renewables made up 79 per cent of our total electricity generation in the March 2011 quarter. New Zealand has a target of 90 per cent of electricity generation to be from renewable sources by 2025, and we are well on our way to achieving that.''

On September 13 the Joint Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference will discuss moving towards a low-energy, low carbon sustainable transportation future.

"New Zealand is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. We have a number of initiatives in place to reduce emissions, including the Emissions Trading Scheme that includes the transportation sector,'' says Ms Parata.

Following the Energy Ministerial Conference Ms Parata will attend the APEC Women and the Economy Summit, also in San Francisco from September 13-16.

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will chair discussion which will focus on the Government's key priorities of: increasing the number of women in leadership; increasing women's economic independence; and driving economic growth.

"New Zealand already has a strong international reputation for gender equality, as shown by our 5th ranking in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2010,'' says Ms Parata.

"We have also had a lot of recent success with the NZX proposing new rules that will require all publicly listed companies to declare how many women they have in senior roles and the New Zealand Institute of Directors' establishing a new mentoring scheme aimed at increasing the number of women on NZX-listed boards.

"But we know there is always more that can be done as we look to build a brighter future for all New Zealanders.''

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