The Government's emissions reduction plan includes work to develop a Gas Transition Plan to drive emission reductions from natural gas.
The Gas Transition Plan will be a key input into a broader Energy Strategy, showing how emissions from gas can be reduced in line with targets in emissions budgets, in legislation, and in New Zealand's international commitments.
We worked with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to develop the plan.
See more information about the Gas Transition Plan on MBIE's website
In 2023, MBIE consulted widely on the key challenges and opportunities in the gas transition.
See the Developing tab for more information on the consultation, related research and related documents.
In August 2023, the Government sought feedback on a programme of work to transition New Zealand towards a low-emissions economy.
The Government consulted on five streams of energy policy including the Gas Transition Plan Issues Paper.
We worked with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to develop the Issues Paper. Views were sought on key challenges and opportunities in the transition.
MBIE hosted a webinar presentation on the development of the Gas Transition Plan on 30 August 2023 as well as webinars on the wider energy consultations which began on 18 August 2023.
We recommended industry and stakeholders provided feedback on technologies and choices discussed in the Issues Paper. These include biogas, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
Consultation on the Issues Paper closed on 2 November 2023.
You can read about the Consultation on advancing New Zealand's energy transition on MBIE's website.
To support the Issues Paper, we commissioned research on a variety of topics. The insights gained are likely to be valuable to interested parties.
The reports are available below and on MBIE's website.
Topics include:
Gas Transition Plan (MBIE website)
Consultation on advancing New Zealand's energy transition on (MBIE's website)
In 2021 we investigated whether current market, commercial and regulatory settings that provide for gas availability and flexibility were fit for purpose in supporting the energy transition.
New Zealand is transitioning to a future with 100% renewable electricity from 2030 and a net zero carbon economy by 2050. During the transition, the electricity industry needs security of gas supply. Major gas users also need certainty and transparency for their operations.
We began the gas market settings investigation work after a request from the then Minister of Energy and Resources, Megan Woods, who asked in a letter how:
See the Minister's letter below in related documents.
We released a consultation paper (see below) that we developed following conversations with a wide range of stakeholders from across the gas and electricity sectors.
Based on the consultation feedback we wrote a report for the Minister, Gas Market Settings Investigation.
This report provided useful background for developing the Gas Transition Plan.
The report is available below.