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New Zealand has declared a climate change emergency and committed to a carbon neutral government by 2025, in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called “one of the greatest challenges of our time.”
A motion tabled in parliament on Wednesday recognized “the devastating impact the volatile and extreme climate in New Zealand will have and the well-being of New Zealanders, on our primary industries, availability of water and public health through flooding, rising water levels, sea and forest fires “. .
Thirty-two other nations have formally recognized the global crisis by declaring a climate emergency.
The motion acknowledged the “alarming trend in declining species and global biodiversity,” including declines in New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity.
The climate emergency declaration was supported by the Green Party and the Maori Party and with opposition from the National and Law parties.
Speaking in parliament after its introduction, Ardern said the country must “act urgently.”
“This statement is an acknowledgment of the next generation. An acknowledgment of the burden they will have if we don’t do it right and don’t act now, ”he said.
“It is up to us to ensure that we demonstrate a plan of action and a reason for hope.”
Ardern said the government sector will be required to purchase only electric or hybrid vehicles, the fleet will be reduced over time by 20%, and the 200 coal-fired boilers used in public service buildings will be phased out.
The motion also calls for recognition of “significant progress in meeting the challenge” by the country by signing the Paris Agreement and passing the Zero Carbon Act of 2019, which commits New Zealand to reducing emissions.
That legislation, which establishes a Climate Change Commission charged with putting the country on the path to net zero emissions by 2050, made New Zealand one of the few countries to have a zero-emissions target enshrined in law.
But experts say the country is far behind in the necessary changes. The inaction was “disgraceful” and had become “unsustainable,” said Bronwyn Hayward, professor of political science at the University of Canterbury, last week. “The irony is that even under [President] Trump, the United States will have achieved better reductions per capita than ours. “
Writing in The Conversation, Robert McLachlan, a professor of applied mathematics at Massey University, said that New Zealand had not yet made emission reductions. Out of 43 industrialized countries, New Zealand is among 12 that have seen a net emission increase between 1990 and 2018.
This is despite strong statements from the prime minister, like this one when the Zero Carbon Law was passed in November last year: “[New Zealand is] on the right side of the story. I absolutely believe and continue to defend the statement that climate change is the greatest challenge of our time ”.
Wednesday’s statement also said the government “will demonstrate what is possible to other sectors of the economy by reducing the government’s own emissions and becoming a carbon neutral government by 2025.”
But opposition parties have described the move as a publicity stunt, and National Party leader Judith Collins called it a “signaling of virtue.”
“We think it is all very well to declare an emergency, but there is no proper plan on how to deal with it,” Collins told Radio New Zealand.
As an example, he pointed to the government fleet of more than 15,000 vehicles, of which only about 10% are electric.
New Zealand contributes only 0.17% of global emissions, but that’s high for its size, putting it 17th out of 32 OECD countries. Its net emissions have increased by 60% in the last two decades.
The largest source of CO2 emissions in the country is road transport, but most of the greenhouse gases come from agriculture.
New Zealand’s pledges have been seen internationally as less than required and the second-term Labor government has yet to introduce carbon reduction policies that will guide the country to meet its emissions targets.
