New Zealand has signed onto the Birmingham Declaration on Zero Emissions Vehicles, committing to a zero emissions future for transport.

Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw, endorsed the declaration during his visit to London in December.

“The transport sector has a critical role to play in the transformation to a low-emissions global economy,” says Shaw.

“At last week‘s climate change conference in Katowice, Poland, reducing emissions from transport was identified as an important step in the global climate change response.

“I‘m pleased to add New Zealand to this Declaration as a signal of our commitment to take action, along with others, in this important sector,” he says.

New Zealand officially reached 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in September this year. The proportion of light vehicle registrations that are electric are increasing, reaching approximately two percent of registrations in November 2018.

“EVs still make up a small proportion of New Zealand‘s vehicle fleet,” says Shaw. “The Government is looking at policies to encourage the supply of EVs, in order to bring prices down so that they are cheaper, more widely available, and more affordable for New Zealanders.”

Signatories to the Declaration commit to accelerating the transition to low emission vehicles, enabling the growth of the low emissions vehicle market, and supporting the development of new zero emissions technologies.

The Birmingham Declaration has been signed by 14 other countries and states, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Denmark.