Orion supports climate change advice to Government
30 March 2021 at 8:59 am
The Orion Group’s submission to the Climate Change Commission on its draft advice to Government calls for faster emission reductions to 2030, in line with the 1.5 degree global climate goal.
While generally supportive of the Climate Commission’s draft advice, Orion Group’s key recommendations are:
- Cross-regulatory coordination is vital to enable the transition
- Equitable allocation of cost for increased electrification requires a combination of pricing methodology, financial support for network upgrades and easier routes to Verified Emission Reduction units
- Action is required so customers can access half hourly energy use information in real time
- Increased resourcing needs to include consideration of digitisation and human capital investment
The Group’s submission also suggests the Commission consider:
- Greater funding and awareness around native forestry
- Standardisation on the use of offshore VERs – for voluntary offsetting and as part of the Nationally Determined Contribution
- Maintaining the ability to use New Zealand Units [1 unit = 1 tonne of carbon] in voluntary offsetting
- Facilitating standardisation of Electricity Distribution Business network design and equipment
- National battery recycling investment
- Developing maturity in embodied carbon accounting
Orion Group Interim Chief Executive, Jono Brent says, “We are a passionate advocate for clean energy and proactively enable those seeking help to reduce their carbon footprint.
“We are the guardians of an important resource - our service is vital to the wellbeing and
livelihood of the people and businesses in our region. This drives us to understand more about the impacts of climate change on our operations, both physical and transitional.
“It is vital that our planning and adaptation ensures our network and our business can continue to be safe, reliable and resilient while meeting the needs of our community.”
See Orion Group submission to the Climate Change Commission, 28 March 2021.