WELLINGTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government said on Wednesday that it had ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, while opposition lawmakers demanded action to curb the country's rising greenhouse gas emissions.
"By ratifying today, we are helping to get the Paris Agreement officially over the line, and demonstrated our commitment to global action on climate change," Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett said.
"Although New Zealand contributes only a small proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, the early timing of our ratification enables us to join the group of countries that make up 55 percent of global emissions - the minimum needed to get this agreement across the line. Our contribution counts," she said.
"A significant benefit of the government ratifying early is that it guarantees New Zealand a seat at the decision-making table on matters that affect the Paris Agreement at the next United Nations climate change meeting in Marrakesh in November, which I look forward to attending."
The Paris Agreement was a comprehensive and durable international agreement, and New Zealand was committed to playing its part in keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.
"New Zealand's big challenge now is to develop an effective plan for meeting our target of reducing our emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030," Bennett said.
The opposition Green Party welcomed the government's swift ratification of the Paris Agreement, but said it opened the real challenge of reversing the country's "massive rise in carbon emissions" over the last two decades.
"New Zealand's response to climate change will require some big changes, like ending our long-term reliance on imported fossil fuels and shifting to sustainable high-value forms of farming, like organics," Green Party co-leader James Shaw said.
Carbon emissions had increased 19 percent since the current government took power in 2008 and it was still talking about expanding pollution-intensive industries like oil, gas and intensive dairy farming, said Shaw.
