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4.4. Reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is critical for climate change mitigation. The Government has committed to reducing biogenic methane by 24-47% below 2017 levels by 2050 (and 10% by 2030), as set out in the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. New Zealand has also joined the COP26 Global Methane Pledge to showcase our commitment to increased ambition on methane emissions (including from agriculture). New Zealand is the first country in the world to price agricultural emissions (from 2025 at the latest) and is working with the primary sector and Māori to establish the best way of doing so through He Waka Eke Noa – Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership.

5.2. The postponement of MC12 in November 2021 was disappointing, but given the global health situation, it was the right decision. (...). New Zealand seeks conclusion of disciplines on environmentally harmful fisheries subsidies as soon as possible, and a new negotiating framework to reduce trade- and production-distorting subsidies in the agriculture sector. (...).

5.7. (...). New Zealand sees a valuable role for the WTO at the intersection of trade and climate change and is leading the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform initiative to establish a pathway for discussions and development of options to address fossil fuel subsidies at the WTO.

5.8. New Zealand actively supports trade work at the OECD, including through participating in relevant Committees and Working Parties, such as those on trade, fisheries and agriculture and its long-standing chairing of the Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment. (...)

5.9. New Zealand's trade policy supports leveraging trade to advance implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. New Zealand believes WTO rules contribute to trade-led growth and development and solutions for international challenges, such as food security and climate change. New Zealand also supports the need for targeted and proportional flexibilities and effective technical assistance to help developing Members, in particular LDCs, to implement these rules and participate in global trade.

5.13. New Zealand is engaging in multilateral and plurilateral initiatives to promote inclusive and sustainable trade. (...). Inclusive Trade Action Group (ITAG) members have held workshops, meetings and webinars to develop understanding and share experiences around Indigenous trade, women's economic empowerment, agriculture and the sustainable development goals, and SME development. (...)

5.14. Making New Zealand's trade policy more sustainable is a key focus of Trade for All. The Trade for All Advisory Board recommended updating New Zealand's trade and environment principles, which guide New Zealand's FTA engagement in this area. The Government accepted the recommendation and a refresh is underway.

5.15. Internationally, New Zealand is a long-standing advocate of mutually supportive trade and environment outcomes across the multilateral, regional and bilateral agendas. New Zealand is a leading proponent of phasing out and eliminating environmentally harmful subsidies, including the reform of agricultural, fisheries and fossil fuel subsidies. New Zealand seeks a WTO Agreement establishing meaningful fisheries subsidies disciplines as soon as possible. New Zealand does not provide any subsidies that would incentivize greater fishing effort or capacity in its commercial fisheries and imposes levies (NZD 30 million in 2020/21) on owners of commercial fishing rights to recover a significant portion of the costs of managing fisheries sustainably.

5.16. New Zealand has led Joint Ministerial Statements on Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) at the WTO's MC11 and in advance of MC12. The 2021 FFSR Joint Ministerial Statement [42] seeks to elaborate concrete options to advance FFSR at the WTO before MC13, and was cosponsored by 45 WTO Members. New Zealand is the founding member and Chair of the Friends of FFSR, a group of 10 countries seeking meaningful FFSR action across international fora. Through this group New Zealand led the launch of the FFSR Communiqué at the 2015 Paris Climate Summit and a further statement on its 5th anniversary in 2020. The group engages in ongoing advocacy and awareness raising efforts to encourage reform, including through side events in Geneva. [42] New Zealand relaunches campaign to deliver Joint Ministerial Statement on Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) at WTO MC12 | New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (mfat.govt.nz).

5.17. Transparency is an important element of subsidy reform. New Zealand has undergone two voluntary peer reviews of its fossil fuel support measures using the APEC (2015) and OECD (2018) mechanisms. These found that New Zealand does not have any fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, however the OECD review found that New Zealand had nine remaining indirect support measures that could support fossil fuels. Three of these measures are now terminated and the Government committed in 2019 to evaluate the remaining indirect support measures and not introduce any new fossil fuel subsidies. Its evaluation was completed in 2021 and found that New Zealand does not have any support measures that could directly or indirectly support the wasteful consumption of fossil fuels. New Zealand has the third highest share of renewable energy generation in the OECD and is working towards 100% renewable energy generation by 2030. Prices for energy products and services are set freely by the market. New Zealand is a member of the Powering Past Coal Initiative and became an associate member of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) in 2021.