Sustainability in New Zealand is being increasingly recognised as being good practice and the government has made some moves toward this goal.
Sustainability in New Zealand is being increasingly recognised as being good practice and the government has made some moves toward this goal.
Over the relatively short human occupation of New Zealand, huge changes had been made to the natural environment. Although efforts were made by a small number of individuals and organisations in highlighting environmental issues, only ad-hoc measures were made by the government at central and local level. Sustainability became a concept that emerged from the environmental movement which become a social and political movement of its own right in the 1960s. In 1972 the Values Party formed, being the first national-level Green party.
The New Zealand government has enacted legislation to enshrine sustainability principles in law, notably the Resource Management Act 1991. It was a landmark piece of legislation, being the first to adopt the principle of sustainability.
In 2003 the government announced the Sustainable Development Programme of Action. [1] The Govt3 programme was also announced that year, but was cancelled in March 2009.
As in many other countries, there were demand for sustainable products and services and some companies began filling this demand. In March 2007 Westpac became the "first New Zealand bank to offer a 'green' home loan." [2] There was also increasing calls for green growth, a path of economic growth that uses natural resources in a sustainable manner. The Ministry of Economic Development set up the Green Growth Advisory Group. The lobby group Pure Advantage formed in July 2011 to promote green growth and in 2012 released a report stating that New Zealand should improve its environmental performance and improve its image. Some of the environmental rankings, including Yale University's Environmental Performance Index, showed that New Zealand was not improving its overall sustainability. New Zealand is a green country although it is small it still continues to be an eco friendly country. [3] [4]
The international business adviser, author and speaker Paul Gilding believes New Zealand dairy farmers have a significant advantage over other countries because they run pasture-fed systems, rather than grain-fed as in the US. Another advantage is New Zealand's reputation as a clean and green country, at least compared with most other countries. "As the demand rises for clean and green food, the better off New Zealand dairy is," Gilding said. [5]
Public sector organisations in New Zealand comprise the state sector organisations plus those of local government.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social-democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.
Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons was a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010.
The Environment and Conservation Organisations of Aotearoa New Zealand (ECO) was formed in 1971 under the name of CoEnCo and changed its name to ECO in 1976.
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
This is a timeline of environmental history of New Zealand. It includes notable events affecting the natural environment of New Zealand as a result of human activity.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management.
Environmental law in New Zealand is an increasingly well defined body of national law that has a specialist court, The Environment Court of New Zealand, to decide related issues.
Greenpeace Aotearoa (GPAo) is one of New Zealand's largest environmental organisations, and is a national office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The Langkawi Declaration on the Environment was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations on the issue of environmental sustainability. It was issued on October 21, 1989 at Langkawi, Malaysia, during the tenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Despite abundant natural resources and a relatively small population, New Zealand is a net importer of energy, in the form of petroleum products. The ratio of non-renewable and renewable energy sources was fairly consistent from 1975 to 2008, with about 70 percent of primary energy supply coming from hydrocarbon fuels. This ratio decreased to about 60 percent in 2018. The proportion of non-renewable energy varies annually, depending on water flows into hydro-electricity lakes and demand for energy. In 2018, approximately 60% of primary energy was from non-renewable hydrocarbon fuels and 40% was from renewable sources. In 2007 energy consumption per capita was 120 gigajoules. Per capita energy consumption had increased 8 per cent since 1998. New Zealand uses more energy per capita than 17 of 30 OECD countries. New Zealand is one of 13 OECD countries that does not operate nuclear power stations.
The environment of New Zealand is characterised by an endemic flora and fauna which has evolved in near isolation from the rest of the world. The main islands of New Zealand span two biomes, temperate and subtropical, complicated by large mountainous areas above the tree line. There are also numerous smaller islands which extend into the subantarctic. The prevailing weather systems bring significantly more rain to the west of the country. New Zealand's territorial waters cover a much larger area than its landmass and extend over the continental shelf and abyssal plateau in the South Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea and Southern ocean.
Hydroelectric power in New Zealand has been a part of the country's energy system for over 100 years and continues to provide more than half of the country's electricity needs. Hydroelectricity is the primary source of renewable energy in New Zealand. Power is generated the most in the South Island and is used most in the North Island.
The management of waste in New Zealand has become more regulated to reduce associated environmental issues. According to OECD data, New Zealand is the third most wasteful country in the OECD.
Govt3 was a sustainability programme operated by the New Zealand government. It was managed by the Ministry for the Environment. "Govt" stands for government and "3" stands for the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic.
This article is intended to give an overview of green building in New Zealand.
The Climate Change Response Amendment Act 2008 was a statute enacted in September 2008 by the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand that established the first version of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases uncapped and highly internationally linked emissions trading scheme.
Water is relatively abundant in New Zealand due to the temperate climate and maritime weather patterns. In recent years, water pollution and draw-down of aquifers have become important environmental issues in New Zealand.