I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 to 132, inclusive, together.
The 2021 Climate Action Plan (CAP 2021) committed to reducing emissions from the residential and commercial buildings sectors to between 3.5 - 4.5 Mt CO2eq. by 2030, from 7.9 Mt in 2018. CAP 2021 did not, however, include either cumulative or annual emissions savings on the specific contribution of the Plan’s retrofit or heat pump deployment targets.
CAP 2021 also set out an ambitious National Retrofit Plan detailing how the targets to retrofit 500,000 dwellings and to deploy 600,000 heat pump installations would be met. CAP 2021 also included the following key commitments for the residential and commercial buildings sectors:
- Strengthening the existing NZEB requirements for new dwellings to effectively ban fossil fuels in new dwellings;
- Ramp-up of zero emissions heat in commercial buildings; and
- Increased targets for the roll-out of district heating.
Aside from reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, residential retrofit brings additional benefits, including reduced energy costs, improved comfort and health, less dependency on fossil fuels, and improvements in indoor and outdoor air quality.
The National Retrofit Plan estimates that, between 2019 and 2025, almost 185,000 home energy upgrades will be delivered with over 83,000 to a B2/cost optimal level. When the emissions savings from the non-B2 upgrades are included, this is the equivalent of 120,000 B2 upgrades over the period. As a result, there will a need to deliver, on average, approximately 75,000 B2-equivalent home upgrades per year from 2026 to 2030 to achieve the overall target of 500,000 by 2030.