OPINION: VUW’s Natural Gas Boilers Cannot Be Replaced Fast Enough

Words by Maia Ingoe (she/her) 

Climate Change Minister James Shaw recently announced that public hospitals and tertiary education institutions would be included, along with public schools, in the goal to replace all coal boilers by 2025.

In total, the government invested $78 million to 38 decarbonisation projects across the state sector. “This means […] students will be going to work at a place with cleaner air,” Shaw said earlier this month.

So, what does Te Herenga Waka​​—Victoria University of Wellington get out of this investment?

VUW has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its campuses by 2030. But it’s not coal boilers that are the problem for this university—it’s natural gas combustion.

Natural gas is a greenhouse gas that, like coal, is fucking terrible. 2017’s Zero Carbon Plan reported that natural gas emissions make up 19% of VUW’s total emissions—the second largest source after air travel (42%). In 2022, VUW emitted a total of 12,363.778 tonnes of CO2. Of this, 3,389.098 tonnes were from natural gas combustion. Most of this was from on-campus natural gas boilers (2,649.087, the remainder, being from student accommodation).

VUW’s natural gas fired boilers provide hot water to buildings and are used for heating radiators, air conditioning, and tap water. Those of us who have sheltered from freezing flats in the top floors of the library during winter nights will know how toasty those radiators can be, but they aren’t a sustainable choice.

The university plans to move to electric alternatives as the boilers reach the end of their life, or as part of “large building refurbishments”, said Andrew Wilks, director of the university’s Sustainability Office. “In the meantime, there has been a lot of work done to improve the energy efficiency of the boiler operations to reduce natural gas consumption.”

Through the government’s decarbonisation fund, VUW received two lots of investment. First, $125k to install efficient LED lighting in the Cotton and Laby buildings, which, alongside $376k of VUW’s own budget, is estimated to reduce emissions by 670 tonnes over 10 years. The second investment of $112k is to replace a fossil gas boiler in the Von Zedlitz building, with a “low emissions alternative”, which, paired with $268K from VUW’s own budget, will reduce emissions by 1487 tonnes over 10 years.

Coal boilers are outdated method of heating that is too prevalent in Aotearoa public institutions. Although it’s great that they are being phased out, the emissions caused by natural gas boilers are just as unsustainable. Waiting for boilers to expire simply isn’t the urgent action we need to reduce emissions.