“We are alarmed by the Finance Minister’s comments
today on New Zealand’s commitments under the Paris
Agreement at Scrutiny Week,” says Jessica Palairet,
Executive Director of Lawyers for Climate Action
NZ.
The Finance Minister ruled out the Government
buying any material volume of offshore carbon credits to
meet New Zealand’s 2030 Paris Agreement
target.
“This is a remarkable and concerning
development in the New Zealand government’s ‘will they,
won’t they’ approach to its international climate
obligations”, says Palairet.
“New Zealand has
obligations under international climate law to “make best
efforts” to meet our Paris Agreement targets, and pursue
measures that are actually capable of achieving those
targets.”
“In our view, ruling out material
offshore mitigation, without any credible alternative plan
for meeting NDC1, falls foul of our obligations under the
Paris Agreement. New Zealand is not making ‘best
efforts’, as the Minister claims, and the Finance
Minister’s rhetoric is harmful.”
“The New
Zealand government knows that it is facing an 84 million
tonne shortfall in emissions reductions required to achieve
NDC1. Save an extraordinary breakthrough in climate
technology, experts have repeatedly warned that that closing
this gap is near impossible without substantial offshore
mitigation.”
“The Minister has framed this as a
choice between sending ‘billions of dollars’ offshore,
or reducing emissions at home – saying she chooses the
latter. But that is misleading; it does not reflect what the
Government is currently doing. It has actively wound back
domestic emissions reduction policies like the Clean Car
Standards, has made decisions that have caused the carbon
price in the ETS to tank, and has not presented any plan for
how it will reduce the 84 million tonne emissions gap with
domestic policies.”
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“Breaching the Paris Agreement
gives rise to real reputational, trade, and economic
consequences.”
“Among other things, New Zealand
now has trade obligations that require us to effectively
implement the Paris Agreement and expose our exporters to
trade sanctions if we do not. Earlier this year, the
International Court of Justice warned that states may bring
legal proceedings against each other in respect of breaches
of international climate obligations.”
“The
Minister of Climate Change appears cognisant of these risks.
To date, he has not ruled out paying for offshore mitigation
– pointing to co-operation agreements with countries such as
Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines as evidence they
are “advancing discussions” and “considering all
options” for how to achieve NDC1.”
“The Finance
Minister’s comments today pour cold water on those
developments, and are inconsistent with the Minister of
Climate Change’s positioning.”
“New Zealand used
to be a leader in how we responded to climate change –
working to ensure we have a safe and liveable planet to pass
on to future generations. It is naïve to treat our Paris
Agreement obligations as merely a question of writing a
cheque. Investing in real emissions reductions will save
money in the medium to long term and is essential to doing
our fair share to protect the planet and the most
vulnerable.”
