ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS OF NEW ZEALAND (INC.)
P O Box 11-057, Wellington, New Zealand
126 Vivian Street, Wellington
11 October 2007 – Media Release – Wellington
ECO Welcomes Energy Strategy Commitment to Renewables and Energy Efficiency
The National Energy Strategy and the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NEECS) are a major step
forward in the road towards a sustainable energy measures for New Zealand, says the Environment and Conservation
Organisations of New Zealand, ECO.
“The development of a sustainable energy strategy was decades overdue,” Mr Weeber, ECO Co-chairperson said. “It is time
for New Zealand to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels towards a much greater investment in energy efficiency
and renewable energy sources.”
ECO noted that the strategy is a companion policy to the emissions trading scheme launched last month by the Government
to start to deal with our greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Weeber said the emission trading scheme has a very elastic cap
which may not actually reduce emissions to that Energy Strategy and NEECS are crucial for creating real reductions.
“The end to new fossil fuel electricity generation is a major step forward for renewable electricity generation and for
moving towards a reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions.”
“The major change over previous Government energy policies is the greater commitment to investment in energy
efficiency.”
The targets in the strategy to halve domestic transport emissions by 2040 and to achieve 90 percent of our electricity
from renewables by 2025 are important commitments to sustainability. Mr Weeber said the targets could be stronger but
were a significant step forward.
“ECO welcomes the new investment in improving household comfort and energy efficiency, and the vehicle efficiency
standards.”
In launching the documents the Minister of Energy, David Parker, rightly pointed out that blaming the Resource
Management Act for past problems in energy was “misguided”.
ECO welcomes the development of a National Policy Statement (NPS) on renewable energy under the Resource Management Act.
“Particularly welcome is the Minister’s commitment that a Renewable Energy National Policy Statement would not be
renewable energy at any price to the environment. The Minister’s statement that the New Zealand doesn’t need to ‘dam
more rivers’ or erect ‘wind farms on every ridgeline’ would help to allay some concerns that this policy could turn in
to a renewables at any price strategy.”
“One disappointment in the strategy was the government’s ongoing commitment to further drill for gas and oil around New
Zealand.
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ECO has 65 member organizations with a shared concern for the environment.
The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy is a statutory document under the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Act which was passed in 2000.