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

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

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

zero emissions Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, process, or other energy source, that 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, se ...

economy by 2050. The Interim Committee was superseded and replaced by an independent

Climate Change Commission The Climate Change Commission (''He Pou a Rangi'') is an independent Crown entity that advises the New Zealand Government on climate change policy within the framework of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act. The Commission wa ...

under the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, 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 Parliament ...

, an independent advisory body that advises the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

on whether it is meeting its

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels bu ...

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

. The Terms of Reference for the ICCC are: *How surrender obligations could best be arranged if agricultural methane and nitrous oxide 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 emissions under the terms of the Paris Agreement. It will consult with key stakeholders and hand over its research and analysis to an independent Climate Change Commission under the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 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 England, English artist and former art education, 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 ...

, 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 t ...

. 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 (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), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

*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 The economics of climate change concerns the economic aspects of climate change; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response. A number of factors make this and the politics of climate change a difficult problem: it is a l ...

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's climate change spokesperson

Todd Muller Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand 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 general e ...

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 all farmers: arable including fruit and vegetables, dairy and meat and their often remote communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Fed ...

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, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

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

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 serves 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 g ...

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

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