Gary Kerkin: Is Net Zero For New Zealand Worth $550 Billion Dollars?

Last month Michael Kelly, Emeritus Prince Philip Professor of Technology at the The University of Cambridge, a New Zealander, published a Note under the auspices of of the Global Warming Policy Forum, London, entitled “NET ZERO FOR NEW ZEALAND - A report from a Putative Delivery Agency”[1] stating in the Executive Summary:

The cost to 2050 will comfortably exceed $550 billion, a workforce comparable in size to the health sector will be required for 30 years, including a doubling of the present number of electrical engineers, and it will need about 10% of the global annual production of lithium, cobalt, neodymium and other materials.

Given his credentials and reputation there is no reason to doubt his findings which suggests an expenditure of around $290,000 per dwelling or an average of $110,000 per person over the next 28 years. The Net Zero Emissions Legislation (NZEL) will enforce this as an annual tax on everyone.

Can we afford such an impost? Or, even more importantly, is such an impost necessary?