New Zealand (NZ) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Climate Change Minister James Shaw have set the pacific nation an ambitious target to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2030. The move comes as the United Nations international climate change conference, COP26, gets underway in Glasgow, Scotland. The NZ government is setting itself a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement that will aim to reduce net emissions by 50 percent below its gross 2005 level by 2030—equating to a 41 percent reduction on previous levels. The government will use an “emissions budget” approach that will essentially place a cap on the number of emissions allowed within a predetermined period. “Climate change is a priority for the government because it’s a threat to our economy, our environment and our everyday lives,” Ardern and Shaw said in a press statement on Oct. 31. “While we are a small contributor to …