Jacinda Ardern says she would help bring in to zero-emissions buses in a bid to decarbonise public transport if her Labour government were returned to power in New Zealand’s election on 17 October.
In Ardern’s emissions policy, announced on Wednesday, her party also pledged to phase out coal-fired boilers commonly used for small-scale heating, and to boost funding for agricultural climate change research programmes.
“I have said that climate change is my generation’s ‘nuclear-free moment’,” Ardern said in a statement. She added that her government, which has held office since 2017, had taken “the most concrete actions” on climate of any to date. “But there is more to do,” she said.
Labour would spend $50m to help local councils buy only zero-emissions buses by 2025. Her government would “decarbonise the public transport bus fleet” by 2030, she added.
Ardern’s party would also legislate to stop the installation of low- and medium-temperature coal-fired boilers, she said, which would be replaced with electric alternatives.
“During our first term in government, climate change was at the centre of all our policy work and commitments,” Ardern said. “It is inextricably linked to our decisions on issues like housing, agriculture, waste, energy and transport.”
Labour has also pledged a transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and incentives for low-emission vehicles.
Transport makes up 20% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and the agriculture sector accounts for nearly half.
New Zealand is known worldwide for its picturesque landscapes and so-called “clean, green” brand; many voters have cited concerns about action on the climate crisis and the state of the country’s waterways as key issues ahead of next week’s vote.
In November, Ardern’s government – with historic cross-party support – passed a law to reduce New Zealand’s carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and meet the country’s commitments under the Paris climate accords. New education materials were introduced in January to teach school students about the climate crisis.
The left-leaning Green party – Labour’s coalition partner – would “go further and faster” than Ardern’s party to “address the true scale of the crisis”, the party’s co-leader James Shaw said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shaw, who is also the climate change minister, said the next government needed to “get serious about supporting solar power” and make electric cars more affordable to New Zealanders.
Ardern’s Labour received 47% support in a September poll by 1 News Colmar Brunton, with the main opposition party, National, at 33%. The Greens polled at 7%.
