Submission on MfE Climate Change Targets

Water New Zealand is an independent, not for profit association of water professionals and organisations providing leadership in the water sector through effective advocacy, collaboration, technical advice and professional development. Our purpose is to promote and enable sustainable management and development of our water environment.

Climate change presents both risks and opportunities for the sustainable management of water in New Zealand. Our submission has outlined the risks posed to our sector, and the need for targets commensurate with these risks. We have also outlined a number of opportunities for the water sector to contribute to a climate mitigation target.

The submission is not able to offer a quantitative analysis of these risks or opportunities, but does highlight examples of costs from existing climate events. Much of this information has been sourced from Ministry of Environment resources, and so could be included in further development of climate change targets.

Where there are opportunities to further develop our understanding of associated costs and benefits of climate change these are identified in the submission. We believe these costs require further analysis to inform a science based climate change target that is suitable to New Zealand unique circumstances.

Water New Zealand would welcome engagement with the Ministry to collaborate on the opportunities outlined in our submission.