New Zealand energy transition: Why electrifying transport and industry is key - Sanchia Jacobs

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The past few years have shown how quickly global shocks can reach our front door. Oil and gas price spikes, supply disruption and conflicts on the other side of the world have all…

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The past few years have shown how quickly global shocks can reach our front door. Oil and gas price spikes, supply disruption and conflicts on the other side of the world have all shown up in household bills and business costs.

New Zealand is a long way from anywhere - and in energy, that cuts both ways. We sit at the end of the world’s fuel supply chain, with limited neighbours to draw on when it tightens. But small, isolated countries can move quickly, and those that act early set their own terms. We can’t control the world’s shocks. We can decide how exposed we are to them.

At its heart, sovereignty is about independence and choice. The more of our own energy we produce, the more control we have over our economic direction. In a turbulent world, that matters more than ever.

We start from a strong position. Our electricity system has been around 90% renewable in recent quarters. But electricity is only about a third of the energy we use, and more than half of our total energy still comes from fossil fuels, most of it imported. That leaves our economic future partly in someone else’s hands.

Dependence on imported energy is a strategic risk, and leading businesses already treat it as one. Their boards are setting ambitious decarbonisation and electrification targets and backing them with investment.

Sovereignty also carries a particular meaning in Aotearoa, and here it is meant in a national, economic sense. Māori are significant owners of our geothermal generation and increasingly investors in what comes next. An energy system we can call our own should be built in line with our culture of partnership in this country - with government, iwi, investors, private enterprise and communities working together.

We have advantages most countries would envy. Wind, solar, hydro and geothermal deliver most of our electricity today, and there is abundant potential for more, from new wind farms to always-on…

Righ…

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