UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said the country has begun an "ambitious agenda" to fight climate change.
In her remarks to the Climate Action Summit at the UN headquarters in New York, Ardern said that although New Zealand accounts only account for 0.17 percent of the global total, its gross emissions have increased a little over 23 percent since 1990 and its net emissions by 65 percent.
The New Zealand prime minister said they have begun an ambitious agenda. "We have introduced to Parliament the Zero Carbon Bill, the purpose of which is to ensure New Zealand lives within the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming necessary for the wellbeing of our Pacific neighbors."
Ardern listed some measures to show New Zealand's determination. For example, it aims to plant one billion trees by 2028, with 150 million are already in the ground; it has stopped issuing any new permits for offshore oil and gas exploration; in their place, it is investing in green hydrogen, biofuels and the goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2035.
Ardern emphasized that the farming leaders have made their own commitment to cutting emissions from food production.
"Over the next five years we will collaborate to build systems that every farmer will be able to use to measure, manage and reduce their own farm's emissions," she said, adding that the country is determined to show that "we can be the most sustainable food producers in the world."
