Thank you for contacting Hon Simon Watts, Member of Parliament for North
Shore, Minister of Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister of Local
Government and Minister of Revenue.

The Minister considers all correspondence important but as he receives a
large amount of correspondence, it is not always possible to provide a
personal response.

Please note the following guidelines:

·         If you are a North Shore constituent contacting the Minister
about an issue, then your email will be passed to his electorate office.

·         Invitations and requests to meet with the Minister will be
considered and a staff member will be in touch with you in due course. 

·         Requests for official information will be managed in accordance
with provisions of the Official Information Act 1982, which may include a
transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency. 

·         If your email falls outside of the Minister's portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
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correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be no
further response to you. 

Thank you once again for taking the time to write; it is very much
appreciated.

The Office of Hon Simon Watts

(Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated
email.) 

Good afternoon Andrew,

Thank you for your email in which you submitted an Official Information Act request as follows:

"Radio New Zealand reports that the government have rejected recent recommendations from the Climate Change Commission over methane emission levels and the 2050 emission target.

It reported that the rejection was based on analysis showed that following the Climate Commission's recommendations would come at an economic cost to Aotearoa New Zealand - "Modelling indicates that GDP would be 0.4 percent lower than the status quo in 2035, and 2.2 percent lower in 2050."

Please provide copies of the modelling referred to, include all assumptions made with respect to assessing the impact of cost of the recommended emissions reductions on GDP and with respect to assessing the impact on GDP of not following the Climate Commission's recommendations these impacts would include the modelled GDP reduction arising from climate change enhanced storm events, droughts and sea level rise until 2050)."

Minister Watts is considering your request in accordance with the Act, and you can expect a response by 23 January 2026.

Please note that the days from 25 December 2025 to 15 January 2026 (inclusive) are defined as non-working days in the Act and are not counted in the calculation for the response due date. This will affect the time period for responding to your request.

Kind regards,

Office of Hon Simon Watts
 
Minister of Climate Change
Minister for Energy
Minister of Local Government
Minister of Revenue

 
Email: [Simon Watts request email] | Website: www.beehive.govt.nz  
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Riddell <[FOI #33134 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 4 December 2025 3:25 PM
To: Simon Watts (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Economic assessment emission reductions

Dear Simon Watts,

Radio New Zealand reports that the government have rejected recent recommendations from the Climate Change Commission over methane emission levels and the 2050 emission target.

It reported that the rejection was based on analysis showed that following the Climate Commission's recommendations would come at an economic cost to Aotearoa New Zealand - "Modelling indicates that GDP would be 0.4 percent lower than the status quo in 2035, and 2.2 percent lower in 2050."

Please provide copies of the modelling referred to, include all assumptions made with respect to assessing the impact of cost of the recommended emissions reductions on GDP and with respect to assessing the impact on GDP of not following the Climate Commission's recommendations these impacts would include the modelled GDP reduction arising from climate change enhanced storm events, droughts and sea level rise until 2050).

Ngā mihi,

Andrew Riddell

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