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Haere mai

Welcome to New Zealand’s climate change solutions website. This site has information about the causes of, the evidence for and the effects of climate change. It describes the actions being taken to reduce emissions and the work being done to help people prepare for and adapt to climate change.

Background

Since the industrial revolution, human activities have caused a steep increase in the emissions of greenhouse gases. These gases trap more heat from the sun making the Earth artificially warmer. This extra heat is causing changes in weather patterns around the globe. As a result, extreme weather events will become more frequent, more widespread and more intense.

Countries need to reduce their emissions to limit further climate change. To achieve that, a collective international response is required. To make its contribution New Zealand has introduced programmes such as its emission trading scheme to reduce future emissions.

While such responses are being established around the globe, the world's scientists are continuing to develop detailed information on the sorts of physical impacts we can expect from climate change that human activity has already caused. Some sectors and regions are more vulnerable than others to climate change, but as our understanding of the climate system improves, so does our ability to anticipate these changes and to use this information to prepare for and adapt to climate change.

What's hot

  1. The Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes Technical Advisory Group (SEIP TAG) was established in December 2007 to provide guidance and advice on technical design elements of the stationary energy and industrial process (SEIP) emissions components of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). The final report of the SEIP TAG outlines options for allocation, rules for assistance and advice on offsetting electricity emission costs.
  2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has proposed an approach to allocate New Zealand Units (NZUs) to pre-1990 forest owners under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). The Draft Forestry Allocation Plan explains the rationale for that intended approach in more detail and also outlines the intended approach for granting exemptions.