The zero carbon bill: Hawke's Bay really needs it, regional council chairman says

The fog hangs heavy over Windsor Park, Hastings earlier this week. Photo / Warren Buckland

There was a level of irony for Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Rex Graham, receiving texts from members of the public about air pollution in Hawke's Bay while he was sitting in China with stunning blue skies.

As such, he said news the zero carbon legislation had been introduced to Parliament was "fantastic".

"Yesterday I got a lot of texts from residents in Hawke's Bay because of all those fires and the pollution which is created by the fires.

Rex Graham says he hopes the legislation passes quickly. Photo / File

"And it's really fascinating to me that here I am in China with clear blue skies ... and I'm getting texts from people in my own region at home concerned about pollution."

He said the legislation would make people drop their greenhouse gas emissions, for example, by stopping the burning of green wood.

"I just hope legislation comes faster because people won't do it on their own volition.

"It's just tremendous we've got a government who is brave enough and intelligent enough to deal with it [climate change]."

He said he wants to do a review around what sectors in Hawke's Bay are causing the most pollution.

Jim Galloway is concerned about the effect of the bill on rural communities. Photo / File

He said although Hawke's Bay does a lot of mitigation work, such a tree planting, that is not the same as reducing emissions.

"It's like doing something bad and then going to church and saying I'm sorry and then doing something bad the next week."

Not everyone in Hawke's Bay was happy with the news.

Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president Jim Galloway said it put a lot of pressure on farmers.

He said currently there is no way farmers can reduce their methane output without cutting stock and production levels, which then has a economic flow on to rural communities.

He said farmers were already working hard to mitigate emissions, including practices such as tree planting.

He hoped to see investment in research and technology which would enable farmers to reduce emissions without reducing stock.

The Climate Change Response (zero carbon) Amendment Bill commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, apart from biogenic methane, which is methane produced by livestock.

Biogenic methane levels have to be reduced to 10 per cent below the 2017 levels by 2030 and 24-47 per cent below 2017 levels by 2050.

The bill sets a legally binding objective to reduce warming to no more than 1.5C over the next 30 years.