Joint media release from WWF-New Zealand and Lawyers
for Climate Action NZ
The Government’s decision
to approve the first permit since overturning the 2018 ban
on new offshore oil and gas exploration is a backwards step
that won’t improve New Zealand’s energy security or
lower power bills, environmental and climate groups
say.
Resources Minister Shane Jones has today signed
off on Australian-owned EnZed Energy exploring for petroleum
off the coast of South Taranaki – the first permit issued
since the Government repealed the ban on new
exploration.
WWF-New Zealand Interim CEO,
Abbie Reynolds, said offshore oil and gas
exploration is being sold as an answer to energy security
and cost-of-living pressures, but the reality doesn’t
stack up.
“These projects take years to develop and
there’s no guarantee they’ll ever produce commercially
viable oil or gas. That does nothing to ease power bills or
support households facing cost-of-living pressures right
now.
“The answer lies in more investment in clean
energy we can build at home, not doubling down on expensive
fossil fuel exploration.”
Lawyers for
Climate Action’s Acting Executive Director, Laura
MacKay, says the decision also raises serious legal
questions in light of New Zealand’s international climate
commitments and the Supreme
Court ruling that climate change must be a consideration
in new permitting decisions.
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“Our highest court has
made it clear that climate change must be considered when
deciding whether to open areas for oil and gas exploration,
and climate commitments are baked into several of our trade
agreements.
“The International Court of Justice has
been absolutely clear that new fossil fuel exploration does
not align with international legal obligations. As well as
choosing yet again to delay New Zealand’s transition to
cheaper, cleaner energy, granting such applications exposes
New Zealand to enormous reputational risk.”
The
permit area overlaps with the West Coast North
IslandMarine MammalSanctuary – an area set aside to
protect the critically endangered Māui
dolphin.
“It defies belief that we’re prepared
to drill for fossil fuels in what is supposed to be a haven
for our threatened marine life,” says
Reynolds.
“Instead of plundering their home for
expensive fossil fuels that might not even be there, we
should be diverting time, money and political focus to
scaling up clean energy and genuinely making life better for
Kiwis.”
Polling
commissioned by WWF-New Zealand and Lawyers for Climate
Action NZ shows growing public scepticism that new oil and
gas exploration will reduce energy costs, alongside strong
support for more renewable energy.
“If the goal is
reliable, affordable energy, the fastest and cheapest
options are clean energy like wind, solar and hydro. Our
future doesn’t lie in risky offshore drilling that
benefits overseas companies and may never produce a single
barrel of oil,” says
MacKay.
