Minister's Message
Energy sustains our lives. We consume it constantly, at work and at home, 24 hours a day. Yet many of us give little if any thought to where our energy comes from, how well or badly we are using it, where it will come from in the future. We enjoy and prosper from the services energy provides. We pay attention mainly when the bills arrive, or when supply disruptions remind us how much energy matters.
This must change. Two huge challenges will force the development of a radically different energy system this century. One is the coming peak in global oil production, which will probably occur within our lifetimes or our children's. The other is global climate change. Both of these render our current energy habits unsustainable. Both compel us to think about the decline of the fossil fuel era, and what comes next.
We are not powerless in the face of these challenges. Humankind has changed its energy system radically in the past, and can do so again.
The place to begin is not with supply, but with demand. We have been preoccupied with expanding supply to meet our growing energy needs, which have increased steadily with our population and our economy. But our energy needs are ours to control. By making smarter energy choices we can get more value from the energy we use, waste less and start building a cleaner, more dependable energy system. These choices belong to all consumers, large and small. We all have opportunities to choose what we use, and how well we use it.
Although we can re-think our energy consumption, we will still need new sources of energy for the future. The good news is that we already know where to find them. Although we rely on oil and other fossil fuels for most of our commercial energy, the world is awash with energy in other forms. Human ingenuity already captures energy from the sun, the wind, the rain and the Earth's subterranean heat. We have barely begun to tap the enormous resources of clean, renewable energy available to us.
Change can be difficult, but it also brings opportunities. The nations, businesses and individuals that anticipate energy trends have a chance to seize those opportunities to their lasting advantage. New Zealand can be one of those nations. Our abundant energy resources, coupled with our history of innovation and adaptability, position us well for the future.
New Zealand begins a transition to more sustainable energy from the unusual position of having both more renewable energy and lower energy prices than most countries. Energy prices have begun rising and although they remain relatively low, New Zealand's economic advantage of very cheap energy has begun eroding. While we must strive to keep costs as low as possible, consistent with our aspirations for reliable energy supplies and a high quality environment, we can also aim for economic development led more by growth in high value-adding sectors that are not necessarily energy-intensive. This is the direction in which the government's Growth and Innovation Framework is designed to take us.
To make progress towards a sustainable energy system we need a clear, coherent view of our energy challenges and opportunities. We need a long term view of our interests and those of future generations of New Zealanders. We need to be able to make decisions about energy that will help ensure future supply is secure, affordable and environmentally responsible. In short, we need an understanding of what a sustainable energy future for New Zealand might look like, and how we might achieve it.
This document is designed to contribute to such an understanding. It discusses the energy situation facing New Zealand, the challenges and opportunities it presents for the nation, the government's thinking on sustainable energy and its policy response so far. It identifies some possible further steps towards a more sustainable energy system. It is not a manifesto for change, but a step towards one: New Zealand, like the rest of the world, is just starting to explore the path to sustainable energy. The map is not yet drawn. I invite New Zealanders to use this document as an aid to thought and discussion about the individual and collective energy choices we have in front of us. If it helps build a shared understanding of an energy future that fits with New Zealanders' values and aspirations, it will have done its job.
Hon Pete Hodgson
Minister of Energy
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