Symposium: Yes We Can
We would like to thank the following organisations for their support and participation in the symposium held on 31 May 2016 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand.
The energy efficiency and renewable energy associations have identified that a significant component of the Government’s climate change targets agreed in Paris are achievable within this sector alone. Businesses are also looking to what immediate opportunities they can adopt to make them low carbon. Local government is seeking guidance on how they can assist transition to being low carbon communities.
The symposium covered opportunities for the supply of energy from geothermal, solar, wind and bioenergy resources; the increased productivity from wise energy management; the availability of technology options such as electric vehicles and biofuels; and the demand for sustainable energy for business, transport and domestic use. The opportunities discussed were not “maybes”, or wishful thinking, but realistic and achievable within the Paris timetable.
Attendees were invited to test how realistic the opportunities are and to contribute their views on what would be required to achieve the targets in the timeframe proposed. Attendees were expected to contribute to development of recommendations to Government on what would assist. The symposium was for central and regional policy developers and investment strategists of business and industry to hear of priority opportunities.
The theme of the Symposium was " Yes We Can! " |
The information gathered from the symposium and summaries provided by each stakeholder organisation (below) will be collated into a Plan of Action to be submitted to Government.
Use these links to navigate down the page
Symposium attendee material:
- Scroll to bottom of page to access Who's Who booklet (includes the symposium programme with links to presentations, videos and group discussion notes.
- 'Yes We Can!' roadmap
- Framework
- Summary of what would assist faster achievement of the GHG mitigation targets
Webinar
- Understanding New Zealand's GHG emissions profile, webinar presented by Dr Martin Atkins & Dr Tim Walmsley, University of Waikato
Symposium support material:
Contributors material prepared for the symposium and recommended as prior reading is available below. Attendees were encouraged to be familiar with this background material as was referred to throughout the symposium. This allowed to focus the sessions on identifying the priority mitigation opportunities and discussing the barriers to their uptake.
Efficient energy utilisation
- Energy productivity and greenhouse gas emissions reduction action plan, Energy Management Association of New Zealand (EMANZ)
- Sustainable Business Network overview, Sustainable Business Network
- Climate change action, BusinessNZ
Bioenergy
- The role of Bioenergy in European cities, World Bioenergy Association (WBA)
- Heat from wood, Sustainable Energy Forum
- Wood burning. Where are we? Bryn Martin Ltd
- Air quality, the current maze, Bryn Martin Ltd
- The wood processing industry and wood residues for heat production, Wood Processors & Manufacturers Association of NZ (WPMA)
- GHG reduction using biogas technologies, Bioenergy Association IS31
- GHG reduction using wood energy for heat, Bioenergy Association IS32
- GHG reduction from transport biofuels, Bioenergy Association IS33
- Bring back home heating with wood, Sustainable Energy Forum
- Policies to overcome barriers to wood burning, Sustainable Energy Forum
- Renewable and energy efficiency associations say "Yes we can!", Bioenergy Association media statement
- The NZ Bioenergy Strategy, Bioenergy Association
Geothermal
- Geothermal capability for GHG mitigation, Geothermal New Zealand Inc
- Low carbon emissions targets - contributions from Geothermal Energy, New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA)
- Hybrid geothermal-biomass power plants, Ian Thain & Ronald DiPippo
Solar
- Solar and Storage perspective, NZ and Pacific Solar and Storage Council
Wind
- Wind Energy overview, NZ Wind Energy Association (NZWEA)
Electric vehicles
- Driving the electric future, Better New Zealand Trust
- Electric vehicles in New Zealand, Ministry of Transport fact sheet
- Electric vehicle policy: New Zealand in a comparative context, research report by Unversity of Waikato
- New Zealand electric car guide, Better New Zealand Trust
- The future is electric, Better New Zealand Trust
- Are electric cars really the future of New Zealand transport?, Morgan Foundation
- What to look for in electric vehicle policy, Pure Advantage
Urban transport
- Briefing on trolley buses, Sustainable Energy Forum
- Reducing emissions in the New Zealand heavy vehicle fleet, Zero Emission Vehicles
Climate change mitigation
- New Zealand's greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2014 snapshot, Ministry for the Environment
- Transition to a low-carbon economy for New Zealand, Royal Society of New Zealand
- New Zealand's low-emission future: Transformational pathways, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
- Low-emission dialogue - pathway milestones for a low-emission future, first edition, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Relevant government announcements
- Targets to provide direction for our energy future, Energy and Resources Minister
- Government driving the switch to electric vehicles, Transport Minister
Local government leadership
- Draft low carbon capital plan - A climate change action plan for Wellington 2016-2018, Wellington City Council
- Auckland low carbon action plan and appendices, Auckland Council
Use the following link to access workshop presentations and speaker profiles
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