Green Budget win backs public sector leadership on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, December 11th, 2019 - 9 comments
Categories: climate change, energy, greens, james shaw, public services - Tags:

 

Green Party press release.

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The Greens in Government have today won a significant investment to help move the public sector estate onto clean, renewable energy, Green Party Co-leader, James Shaw, said today.

As part of the Government’s capital investment package announced today, the Government will support the public sector to reduce its carbon footprint through an infrastructure spend of $200 million.

“Successive governments failed to respond to the climate crisis. Today’s announcement is another step towards our clean, green future,” James Shaw said. 

“There are many simple ways we could reduce emissions, like replacing the old-fashioned coal boilers currently used to keep many of our public buildings warm.

“We want to make sure hospitals, schools and other public institutions can use energy in a more climate-friendly way, cut emissions, and lower their energy bills. 

“Young people at school right now face the fact that every year they’ve been alive has been one of the hottest years on record. They want to know that their schools are part of the solution to climate change.

“Having seen the Zero Carbon Act pass unopposed, young people, just like the rest of New Zealand, expect us to walk the talk and get our own house in order.”

More information will be announced in early 2020 about exactly how our government will spend the new funding announced today. 

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9 comments on “Green Budget win backs public sector leadership on climate change ”

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  1. Incognito 1
    11 December 2019 at 9:42 pm

    Good.

    • weka 1.1
      11 December 2019 at 9:55 pm

      will be interesting to see the detail next year.

      • Incognito 1.1.1
        11 December 2019 at 10:04 pm

        $200 million is really peanuts but a psychological win nevertheless. I hope the Greens can leverage off that. It should be less controversial than the PGF.

  2. Jenny How to get there 2
    11 December 2019 at 10:49 pm

    “There are many simple ways we could reduce emissions, like replacing the old-fashioned coal boilers currently used to keep many of our public buildings warm…."

    James Shaw – Green Party Press release

    Will the coal fired boilers used to keep public buildings warm, be swapped out for gas fired boilers?

    Will heat pumps be the new way to heat public buildings?

    It will be interesting to see what the more information to be announced in early 2020 has to say on this question.

    ‘Worse than coal’

    Why natural gas makes global warming worse

    Bill McKibben

    Monday, April 9, 2018 – 7:00am

    Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas, but it's not the only one. Another one — present in smaller amounts, but far more potent — is CH4, otherwise known as methane, the primary component of natural gas. If you burn natural gas, you get less carbon dioxide than with coal. But any methane that escapes unburned into the atmosphere on the way to the power plant warms the planet very effectively — so effectively that if you leak more than 2 or 3 percent, it's worse for climate change than coal.

    https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-natural-gas-makes-global-warming-worse

  3. Pete George 3
    12 December 2019 at 7:10 am

    A small Green victory, and looks good, but sits alongside "$6.8 billion for new transport projects, with a significant portion for roads and rail."

  4. Bill 4
    12 December 2019 at 9:29 am

    This will be rowed back then? (my emphasis)

    From today's ODT

    A plan to heat central Dunedin buildings with the biggest eco-heating scheme in New Zealand is set to advance to its next stage.

    The system would replace the coal-fired Dunedin Energy Centre with one run by biomass, woodchip that can be sourced from local forestry residue, which has emerged as the preferred energy source.

    Burning woodchip produces carbon dioxide – jist sayin'. And depending on details around transportation and required mass to produce a given amount of energy etc, may even result in higher emissions than coal.