Australian and New Zealand agree to extend net zero transition collaboration
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The news: Australia and New Zealand have agreed to new measures to help unlock the "golden economic opportunities" of the net zero transformation and streamline and modernise regulation.
The numbers: Following the third Australia-New Zealand Climate and Finance Dialogue in Auckland today, the two governments agreed to further collaboration in the transition to renewable energy. This includes promoting sustainable finance and strengthening sustainable fuel supply chains for energy security in the region.
The new measures include increasing trade in low-emission goods, supporting the solar and battery industries in both countries, and improving the roll out of smart EV battery chargers and vehicle-to-grid standards.
In a joint statement, the two governments agreed to:
- coordinate economic reform agendas across the Tasman;
- co-invest in upgrades to the joint equipment energy efficiency program to reduce costs for industry and help unlock cheaper, cleaner household products;
- further align regulatory settings for consumer energy technologies, including by developing a joint approach on requiring electric vehicle chargers to have smart functionality;
- support Pacific ambitions to accelerate renewable energy, including by collaborating to support a project under the Australia-Pacific Partnership for Energy Transition;
- work on aligning and coordinating consumer product safety standards to reduce barriers to trans-Tasman trade;
- work on closer alignment as we progress the development of both countries’ payment systems, financial licensing, and digital assets reforms;
- continue to align sustainable finance taxonomies including by expanding New Zealand’s taxonomy to the energy and construction sectors;
- progress the trans-Tasman sustainable aviation fuel supply chain, building off Australia’s cleaner fuels program; and
- establish a working group of government and industry to share information and collaborate on solutions to help ensure insurance remains accessible.
What they said: "These discussions bring together two countries, but they also bring together, we think, two really important sets of opportunities in our economy – the opportunities which come from cleaner and cheaper energy and the opportunities which come from a more productive, more dynamic economy on both sides of the Tasman as well," said Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
"And today we made some really useful progress on both fronts simultaneously."
The source: Treasury media release
