- Hon James Shaw
A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
"Today's announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is good news," James Shaw said.
"New Zealand Green Investment Finance says the money it is making available should fund more than 150 zero-emissions buses and associated infrastructure.
"Switching another 150 buses to run on electricity instead of diesel will help us meet our carbon budget, by preventing more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the assets, helping make sure New Zealand families live in a safe, clean and healthy environment.
"Cyclone Gabrielle and the other extreme weather we've experienced this year show why it is so important we cut climate pollution.
"Last week, the International Panel on Climate Change warned that the world is still not doing enough to prevent dangerous levels of climate change and said that we need to move quickly to get emissions down.
"New Zealand is committed to limiting climate warming to no more than 1.5 degrees, which means changing the way we do things."
James Shaw said the switch to electric buses would also help save lives by cutting air pollution.
"Every year in New Zealand, 2200 adults die prematurely and 13,200 children suffer from asthma because of air pollution caused by diesel burnt in cars, trucks and buses.
"There is no downside to investing in efficient, clean public transport, and I am pleased to see NZGIF doing the job we set it up to do."
New Zealand Green Investment Finance was established by the Government in 2019 as part of the Green Party's Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Labour Party.
It's job is to accelerate investment that will cut New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. So far it has made 16 investments worth a total of $360 million and has another $200 million worth of investments in the pipeline.
As of 30 June last year, the total estimated lifetime emissions reductions as a result of NZGIF's investments was 580,000 to 710,000 tonnes.
Investments to date include:
- Investing in solarZero, which provides solar energy for homes, businesses and schools on an "as-a-service" basis so there is no upfront cost for solar panels and batteries.
- Helping Tnue finance a new low-emissions fertiliser plant near Taupō.
- Working with New Zealand Post to provide finance to help its contractors transition to electric vans.
- Helping electrify public transport through investments in Zenobē, as well as the new Kinetic investment.
- Finance to help CentrePort with decarbonisation projects, including replacing diesel container transfer vehicles with electric vehicles.
