Greenpeace says climate strategy ‘nothing more than a cow’s nipple’

Greenpeace said the government’s five-pillar strategy to tackle climate change was “useless”.

government Five climate pillars announced But no policy details were disclosed, only that it would be released within the next two weeks.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said the three-page strategy was a “comprehensive” and “ambitious” plan to reduce the impacts of climate change and prepare for its future impacts.

Each of the five pillars is accompanied by three aspirational bullet points (e.g. “minimize the costs of reducing emissions”) that derive from the core goals set out in each pillar, but do not explain how all this will be achieved. The forthcoming emissions reduction plan promises to provide more detail.

Climate groups have criticised the strategy as meaningless and saying it does nothing to tackle climate change.

There was also heavy criticism from climate scientists and researchers, who noted that the policy lacked focus given the government’s length of time in power and the large number of climate policies it has repealed.

Greenpeace said the strategy was “like teats to cows”.

Greenpeace New Zealand spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn said the so-called climate strategy was a blow to people across New Zealand who had their homes and communities flooded by extreme weather events.

She said the strategy contained no real response to climate change and exposed a reliance on what Greenpeace called “unproven and unreliable” technological fixes.

350 New Zealanders said the Government’s statements since the election have been dominated by: announcing the five pillar policies “makes no sense” Reopening of oil and gas exploration and Mining in protected areas.

Lisa Mclaren, co-director of the group, said: “Meeting New Zealand’s Paris obligations requires a focus on phasing out fossil fuels. Yet this government has not put in place any plan to do what really matters…

“It’s ridiculous that the government is placing so much emphasis on adapting to climate change while actively pursuing policies like mining and oil exploration that will only make the situation worse.”

Green group Pure Advantage was slightly more favorable, albeit somewhat ironic, in its review, praising “nature-based” solutions such as the use of native forests.

“We applaud the government’s five-pillar strategy to achieve its climate change targets. This stands in stark contrast to the onslaught of downgrading and repealing New Zealand’s climate action environmental policies since the Coalition came to power, so we welcome this vision,” the group said.

“There are some contradictions in the government’s plans”

Climate scientists and researchers are equally unconvinced.

Bronwyn Hayward, professor of politics at the University of Canterbury and author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made some positive comments.

Professor Hayward said the five-pillar approach was an important statement for the National-led Coalition, but “the question now is, what is the foundation that underpins those pillars and ensures a coordinated and effective outcome?”

She said the government was trying to find ways to unite its constituency, including agriculture and industry, “some of whom have been wary of the impact of climate action on their future”.

However, she said the climate gains of the past three years could be undone if the size of the Climate Change Commission was reduced as the government planned and the government failed to overhaul the emissions trading system.

“The good news is that our country’s politics have finally matured, with all of our major political parties now recognizing that climate change poses an urgent problem. That was not the case eight years ago.”

Luke Harrington, a senior climate change lecturer at the University of Waikato, said there were “several inconsistencies in the government’s plan”.

“For example, there is essentially no point in installing more fast (electric vehicle) chargers if the market is simultaneously collapsed by removing all incentives to buy electric vehicles and introducing new disincentives. Electric vehicle sales have fallen sharply in recent months as a result of recent policy decisions,” he said.

Since the election, the government Eliminate subsidies for electric vehiclesloosened planned regulations on exhaust emissions for imported new cars and imposed road user fees on electric vehicles. Committed to building 10,000 public electric vehicle charging stations by 2030.

“Similarly, governments know how to transform an ETS into a credible market – they just seem unwilling to do the necessary Changes recommended by the Committee on Climate Change” Harrington said.

“Building resilience to future extreme weather sounds great, but this requires adequate resources to ensure councils can adapt to these worsening extremes.

“Targeted regulation is also needed to ensure we don’t build new things in places that will be destroyed in the next weather event.”

Harrington said he liked the desire to have more native forest and “it would be great if the government could make a clear commitment on how many hectares of native forest it would restore or replant over the next few decades”.

Professor Sarah Walton, co-director of the Climate Change Research Network at the University of Otago, said the strategy lacked focus.

“Some climate subsidies have been removed and decarbonisation is not a big part of near-term transport policy, nor is it the changes to the Resource Management Act in the Fast Track Act,” Walton said.

“To achieve these five pillars and take meaningful climate action, we want to see a range of policies to support the necessary changes, such as promoting innovation and transformation of industries.

“Strengthening environmental legislation does not seem to be on the agenda so far in this government’s term.”

Minister pledges full transparency on emissions reductions

Watts promised that the government will begin consultations on its emissions reduction plan from 2026 to 2030 in the next two weeks (possibly earlier), at which time the government’s emissions reduction plan will be fully transparent.

“The emissions reduction plan will set out policy recommendations across five pillars, with a focus on New Zealand’s biggest drivers of emissions – energy, transport, agriculture and waste sectors.”

The plan is a legislative requirement that sets out how the Government will meet the emissions reduction targets required by New Zealand’s international commitments.

this The first ERP was launched by the previous Labor government in 2022.

“We want to be transparent and clear with New Zealanders about what options we have to achieve our goals, what we will focus on and how much impact each initiative will have,” Watts said as he announced the five pillars in Auckland on Wednesday.

Watts’ climate statement came a day after Energy Secretary Simeon Brown made two announcements. Draft new framework for carbon capture,as well as Lowering standards for improving fuel efficiency – which results in emissions.

The second change came after lobbying by the petrol and diesel car industries that said the clean car changes went too far.

Watts said the change was intended to bring New Zealand standards in line with those in Australia and would have a relatively small impact on emissions.

“The clean car standards … are going to have a fairly small impact when you look at the overall impact,” he said.

Watts said climate change is often seen as a challenge, a difficult area, but he doesn’t want to see it that way.

“I think the way I would like to describe climate change is: yes, while it’s challenging, it also presents a significant opportunity for New Zealanders, an opportunity to play to our strengths.”