A report from a putative delivery agency
Dr Michael Kelly examines the impacts on New Zealand of meeting its Net Zero target and finds that by 2050 the cost will comfortably exceed $550 billion, a workforce comparable in size to the health sector will be required for 30 years, including a doubling of the present number of electrical engineers, and it will need about 10% of the global annual production of lithium, cobalt, neodymium and other materials.
He said:
I think that the hard facts will put a stop to mitigation and lead to a focus on adaptation. Mankind has adapted to the climate over recent millennia and is better equipped than ever to do so in the coming decades. The Dutch have been showing us for centuries how to deal with sea-level rise. Climate adaptation in the here and now is a much easier sell to the New Zealand citizenry than mitigation.
There is a very strong case to repeal the net-zero emissions legislation, replacing it with achievable goals and realistic timescales. The scope for malinvestment is great and the sums are enormous.
Michael Kelly, a New Zealander, ended his academic career as the inaugural Prince Philip Professor of Technology at the University of Cambridge. His main research focus was in new semiconductor physics and technology for ultra-high-speed electronic devices and the manufacturability of semiconductor structures at the nanoscale. He is a trustee of the GWPF. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Net Zero for New Zealand: A report from a putative delivery agency (pdf)
