New Zealand Passes ‘Historic’ Zero Emissions Bill

New Zealand politicians reached across the aisle this week to pass a historic bill aiming to get the country to zero emissions by 2050 and fulfill its commitments under the Paris agreement.

In a 119 to one vote, the bill, which commits New Zealand to keeping global warming below 1.5 C through a variety of measures, was spearheaded by the liberal government and supported by the conservative opposition National party, who’d attempted and failed to add amendments to the bill.

Methane from the country’s farming industry, which brings in much of the country’s foreign income, would be subject to less ambitious declines. “We have to start working beyond targets,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Parliament before the bill passed. “We have to start working beyond aspiration. We have start moving beyond signs of hope and deliver signs of action. That is what this government is doing and proudly so.”

For a deeper dive:

AP, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald

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