The Zero Carbon Act is a kind of road map designed to get us from the way we do things now, where everything from our ham sandwich to our ute has fossil fuels somewhere in its production, to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This means that, by 2050, any more heating of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and the other greenhouse gases will have to be offset somehow: by planting more trees, restoring wetlands and more importantly, changing the way we do pretty much everything.
If we and enough other countries can get to net zero fast enough we might even survive as a species past the next two generations. I'm not being extreme.
The term climate emergency has been adopted by councils and countries around the world. Auckland declared a climate emergency last week. Human extinction is being openly discussed by scientists. I'm terrified for my grandkids' future.
The ZCA is now called the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill and we mere mortals have until July 16 to submit, along with the country's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, according to Rod Oram: Business New Zealand, Fonterra, NZ Steel, Rio Tinto, NZ Refining, Golden Bay Cement, Methanex and Pan Pac Forest Products.