New Zealand meets Kyoto climate targets: minister

New Zealand has met its first round of emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol and is on track to meet its 2020 target, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett said Thursday.

The first target was to reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, while the second is to reduce emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

"New Zealand's second biennial report to the United Nations shows that we met our target for the period from 2008 to 2012 through a combination of emissions reductions, carbon removal by forests, and international trading," Bennett said.

The 2020 net position report showed that New Zealand was projected to meet its 2020 target.

"Following the successful talks in Paris, the government is now focusing on domestic policy to transition to a low carbon economy," said Bennett.

The government has set a target of reducing emissions by 11 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.

The government has come under fire for continuing to encourage fossil fuel exploration and production, and the opposition Green Party on Thursday called for a deadline for including agricultural emissions in its Emissions Trading Scheme.

"A free pass for agriculture is sending the wrong signal to farmers and the wider New Zealand economy," Green Party agricultural spokesperson Eugenie Sage said.

"It says that climate change doesn't matter. It says keep polluting and don't invest in more resilient, climate friendly farming." Endit