Sharjah24 – AFP: New Zealanders who trade in their gas-guzzling car will get financial aid towards buying a cleaner alternative, in one of a raft of climate change initiatives announced by Jacinda Ardern's government Monday.

The country's first Emissions Reduction Plan, costing nearly three billion NZ dollars (1.88 billion US dollars), outlined spending for the next four years to help meet its goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050.

A "scrap and replace" pilot scheme will initially give 2,500 low-income families financial support towards an electric or hybrid vehicle if they replace their petrol- or diesel-powered car.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said the scheme's details were yet to be finalised but he envisaged it would expand rapidly to include "tens of thousands" of New Zealanders.

He said the government's ultimate goal was for less reliance on all cars by 2035 by getting people to switch to public transport or other alternatives.

The government also allocated 650 million NZ dollars to help cut fossil fuel use in the industrial sector over the next four years.