New Zealand must plan to adapt: climate change report

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WELLINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand must plan to adapt to climate change to realize benefits and minimize risks, according to a report from the Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor on Thursday.

New Zealand is expected to be on average 2 degrees centigrade warmer by the end of this century than it was in 1990, but while the rise appeared to be small it would be accompanied by more extreme weather and temperatures, said the report.

Sea level rises are expected to accelerate and the oceans would become more acidic, it said.

While not all the changes would be negative, "these marginal benefits are likely to be small compared to the adverse effects associated with climate change on society as a whole," it said.

"Further work is required to understand interactions with extreme events, changes to disease and pests, and secondary level impacts and interactions which may alter current findings significantly."

The report said agriculture is the country's largest sector emitter, accounting for 47 percent of total emissions, while transport is responsible for 19 percent, with per capita road fuel consumption "high compared to other developed nations."

Climate Change Minister Tim Groser said the report endorsed global consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change, but New Zealand is "playing its part" in mitigation.

"We lead the world by having established the Global Research Alliance on Agriculture Emissions. This involves linking in climate change and agriculture scientists from over 30 countries in the search for alternative technologies and management systems, " Groser said in a statement.

"The government's primary response to climate change is the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). New Zealand is committed to doing its fair share of international climate change action and we're working to extend global emission reductions beyond our own footprint."

However, the main opposition Labor Party said the government has systematically wound back measures to address climate change by withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, gutting the ETS and removing support for sustainable energy technologies.

"We currently have no effective price on carbon and this, combined with Minister Tim Groser's untenable refusal to restrict the flood of cheap international units coming into New Zealand, is having a devastating effect on our carbon forestry sector," Labor climate change spokesperson Moana Mackey said in a statement.

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