The government is following through on a promised ban on new coal boilers, and phasing out existing ones by 2037.
Other changes announced yesterday include new standards requiring councils to factor in climate change in decisions about consents for furnaces that burn fossil fuels.
Currently more than half of the heat used to process raw material - for example in dairy and paper production - comes from burning fossil fuels.
It accounts for 8 percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods said the changes would reduce emissions equivalent to the exhaust fumes from 100,000 cars a year. […]
The ban on installing new coal heating devices kicks in from late next month, with the new nationally consistent standards for councils ready for implementation before the end of the year.
The new standards only cover devices used to generate heat for industrial processes.
Stuff had a related story this morning about the last coke-powered foundry in NZ shutting down.
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We could easily be 100% renewable in this country if the government had the stomach to mandate it. Wind and hydro alone would do it I reckon, not to mention other energy sources (geothermal, solar, wave).
