Progressing offshore mitigation for Aotearoa New Zealand

Oct 21, 2024

Registrations are open for our public policy seminar on using offshore climate mitigation to help meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2030 target under the Paris Agreement.

Seminar title: Progressing offshore mitigation for Aotearoa New Zealand

Speakers: Catherine Leining and Dr Sasha Maher from Motu Research; Dr Suzi Kerr from the Environmental Defense Fund

Date and time: Monday 21 October 2024 from 11am to 12:30pm

Location: Royal Society Te Apārangi, 11 Turnbull Street, Thorndon, Wellington. This seminar will also be streamed online and recorded. Online participants will be able to ask questions.

Registration: To register to join in person at the Royal Society Te Apārangi, click here. To join by Zoom, register here.

Seminar details: 

The world is not on track to prevent dangerous climate change. Cooperation between developed and developing countries is essential to bridge serious gaps in climate mitigation ambition, climate finance and equity.

In 2015, Aotearoa New Zealand pledged to cooperate with other countries by using offshore mitigation to help meet its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement. But so far, successive Governments (including the current Government) have not made this happen. This begs the question: why has Aotearoa New Zealand not progressed this cooperation with other countries further?

At this seminar, Catherine Leining, Motu Research Policy Fellow, and Dr Sasha Maher, Motu Research Affiliate, will discuss the drivers, challenges, and enablers for international cooperation through offshore mitigation as part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate contribution under the Paris Agreement. They will explore four competing mindsets blocking public support for funding offshore mitigation. They will present a fifth mindset which offers a better way ahead. 

As a respondent, Dr Suzi Kerr, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the US-based Environmental Defense Fund (which funded this work), will share her perspectives on making mitigation transfers work in practice.

This work features the just published Motu Note, “Think globally, act cooperatively: Progressing offshore mitigation for Aotearoa New Zealand.”