Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has praised New Zealand for passing the zero carbon bill and vows to pass similar measures if he is elected President. 

Sanders applauled the bill’s passage under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s leadership sharing: "Congratulations to New Zealand on passing major legislation and helping to lead the world in the fight against climate change." 

The bill commits New Zealand to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2050, meeting its commitments under the Paris climate accords.

The self-described democratic socialist said he would be seeking to implement a similar proposal if elected President in 2020.  

“When I am president, we will be a leader in this fight,” Sanders wrote on Facebook. 

“We will pass a Green New Deal that gets us to 100% renewable energy by no later than 2030 and complete decarbonization of the economy by 2050.” 

Despite being an independent for the majority of the previous four years, Sanders is once more running for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

He is currently polling third in what is a crowded Democratic field according to a recent Monmouth University Poll.