The Interim Climate Change Committee (or ICCC) is a ministerial advisory committee created by the

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

in mid–April 2018 to explore how New Zealand transitions to a net

zero emissions A zero emission engine, motor, process, or other energy source emits no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate. Zero emission engines Vehicles and other mobile machinery used for transport (over land, sea, air, rail) and ...

economy by 2050. The Interim Committee was superseded and replaced by an independent Climate Change Commission under the

Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act The Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that amends the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to provide a framework for New Zealand to develop and implement climate change policies in supp ...

in November 2019.

Mandates and functions

The Interim Climate Change Committee is modeled after the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Committee on Climate Change The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliamen ...

, an independent advisory body that advises the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

on whether it is meeting its

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...

goals. The purpose of the ICCC is to provide independent analysis on issues identified in the Government's "Terms of Reference" that will be passed to the Climate Change Commission. The Terms of Reference for the ICCC are: *How surrender obligations could best be arranged if agricultural methane and

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

emissions enter into the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, and *Planning for the transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035. In addition, the ICCC will explore issues such as how to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2035 and reducing New Zealand's

carbon emission Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate change. The l ...

s under the terms of the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

. It will consult with key stakeholders and hand over its research and analysis to an independent Climate Change Commission under the

in May 2019.

Membership

On 17 April 2018, the Minister for Climate Change Issues James Shaw announced the membership of the ICCC. The ICCC's Chair is Dr

David Prentice David Prentice (4 July 1936 – 7 May 2014) was an English artist and former art teacher. In 1964 he was one of the four founder members of Birmingham's Ikon Gallery. Prentice's work features in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Mu ...

, the CEO and Managing Director of

Opus International Consultants Limited WSP New Zealand Ltd is a global engineering professional services consulting firm based in New Zealand and owned by Canadian multinational WSP Global. Until October 2019 it traded as WSP Opus. The New Zealand operation has 40 offices across th ...

. Other members include: * Lisa Tumahai, Deputy Chair of the ICCC and Kaiwhakahaere of Te Rūnanga o

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

*Dr Harry Clark, an agricultural greenhouse gas expert *Dr Keith Turner, formerly CEO of

Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...

*Dr

Jan Wright Dame Janice Claire Wright was New Zealand's third Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. She was sworn in as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a five-year term on 5 March 2007, and was reappointed for a further five yea ...

, who used to be Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment *Dr Suzi Kerr, knows about

economics of climate change An economic analysis of climate change uses economic tools and models to calculate the magnitude and distribution of damages caused by climate change. It can also give guidance for the best policies for mitigation and adaptation to climate chan ...

policy and emissions trading.

History

The ICCC officially came into existence on 1 May 2018. While the ICCC shares the same facilities as the Ministry for the Environment, it operates independently of the Ministry and has its own information management system. The opposition

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

's climate change spokesperson

Todd Muller Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020. Muller entered Parliament at the 2014 gen ...

expressed support for the Committee but criticised Minister Shaw's position to look into agriculture when the science to reduce ruminant emissions had not yet been refined. He also expressed unease about increased taxation of farmers and regional New Zealand. The business lobby group Business New Zealand welcomed the formation of the ICCC. Meanwhile, the agricultural lobby groups DairyNZ and

Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for farmers and rural communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Federated Farmers lobbies on farming issues both nationally and within eac ...

also welcomed the establishment of the ICCC but stressed that the agricultural sector should not bear the full burden of any increased taxation or regulations. On 1 June 2018 the ICCC updated it
Work Programme
with the Minister for Climate Change Hon James Shaw and further clarified it
Terms of Reference
In 2019, the ICCC proposed that Lake Onslow in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

region be used for a pumped hydro-storage system to provide backup electricity generation in dry years. In July 2020, Minister of Energy

Megan Woods Megan Cherie Woods (born 4 November 1973) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as a Cabinet Minister in the Sixth Labour Government and has served as Member of Parliament for Wigram since 2011. Early life Woods was born and gr ...

announced that the New Zealand government would fund a detailed feasibility study of the plan. If progressed, the scheme would be the biggest infrastructure project in New Zealand since the 1980s, employing between 3500 and 4500 people, and take four to five years to build and a further two years to fill. In November 2019, the ICCC was replaced by the Climate Change Commission.

Notes and references

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External links

Official site
2018 establishments in New Zealand 2019 disestablishments in New Zealand Agriculture in New Zealand Climate change policy Climate change in New Zealand Environmental policy in New Zealand Government of New Zealand