Draft plans to move New Zealand to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 have attracted more than 10,000 submissions.
Climate Change Commission draft recommendations included a major uptake of wind and solar farms, reforesting parts of the landscape in permanent native forests, and ending imports of petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles to shift the country into electric carsConsultation closed at the weekend.
And commission chief executive Jo Hendy said the feedback included a wide range of views.
Many people wanted to know that the plan would not hurt New Zealand’s economy on an international scale, but also wanted assurances that the plan was "responsible, fair and sustainable — and that everyone will be asked to do their bit".
"This is the first time Aotearoa or the commission has done anything like this and at the end of this process, we will have our first comprehensive strategy for addressing climate change; that’s a real milestone," Ms Hendy said.
Before the end of May, when the commission’s advice was due to be presented to the Government, the commission would review the submissions, re-run its modelling, and update its recommendations and advice. Once that advice was received on May 31, Climate Change Minister James Shaw would have 10 working days to table that in Parliament.
Advice would be finalised and published on the commission’s website by June 28, she said.
