NZ Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 offers path forward
New Zealand Winegrowers has released the New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050, offering vineyards and wineries practical options for reducing emissions.
The launch was part of the Research & Innovation Forum, one of several events at the Altogether Unique 2024 annual wine celebrations held in Wellington.
New Zealand Winegrowers Environment Committee Chair Fabian Yukich, says the wine industry needed a pathway on how to achieve its goal of being Net Zero by 2050. “Climate change is the biggest long-term challenge facing our industry. It will influence our choice of grape varieties, wine styles, viticultural techniques and regions, and importantly, the purchase decisions of our customers. Our response to climate change is critical to the reputation of New Zealand as a producer of high value, sustainable, premium quality wine.”
The Roadmap was made possible through the support of EECA (Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority) and produced by thinkstep-anz.
It identifies the industry’s current greenhouse gas emission (GHG) footprint and sets out where the wine industry needs to be at 2030, 2040 and 2050. It offers vineyards and wineries practical options for innovation that will help the industry to reduce its emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible.
NZ Winegrowers says that in the short term, reducing scope 1 emissions is the most practical approach, as scope 2 and 3 emissions will require innovation from across the value chain, in particular electricity generation, transport and packaging.
New Zealand Winegrowers General Manager Sustainability Dr Edwin Massey, says “The wine industry has a proud history of embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities. Learning from each other, and from partners up and down our supply chain, will be critical to reducing emissions and meeting our 2050 goal.”