New Zealand puts climate change initiatives

New Zealand will be putting its climate change policies before the global community this month as its chief climate change negotiator completes a circuit of international meetings. Trade Minister and Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser will leave New Zealand Tuesday to attend a ministerial meeting in Pretoria to lay the groundwork for the United Nations climate change conference in Durban in December. Groser will chair a session examining the transition to a post- 2012 climate change agreement. "Countries are facing the reality of a gap in climate change agreements after the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period ends in 2012. We must together ensure that climate change is tackled as a global issue and provide confidence to international carbon markets," Groser said on Monday. Groser will then travel to London to hold bilateral discussions on trade and climate change and participate in the Creating Climate Wealth Summit, presented by non-profit organization The Carbon War Room, which will address capital funding of low-carbon technologies for sustainable agriculture and other fields. Groser's last stop will be Washington, where he will discuss climate change negotiations as a special guest of the Major Economies Forum, the group of the 17 largest emitting countries. He will also host roundtable talks for U.S. agri-business, philanthropic foundations and multilateral banks to update them on the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. He will also outline New Zealand initiatives, including the New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships for Research on Livestock Emissions, which totals 25 million NZ dollars (21.05 million U.S. dollars) over four years, aimed at accelerating global research into mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral livestock. "New Zealand's interest in improving food security without increasing greenhouse gas emissions clearly resonates at a global level. The New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships for Research on Livestock Emissions will create new collaborations that reduce livestock emissions, benefiting New Zealand and other countries." In Washington, Groser will also deliver a keynote address on " The Impact of Climate Change on International Trade" at the Inter-American Development Bank's conference on Trade and Climate Change in Latin America.