Aotearoa has tumbled a further three places in the latest
global rankings on countries’ climate action amid the
Government’s continued climate backsliding and support for
fossil fuels.
Released today while COP31 is underway
in Türkiye, the Climate Change
Performance Index (CCPI) compares and evaluates the
climate performance of 64 countries plus the EU, which
together account for more than 90 percent of global
greenhouse gas emissions.
New Zealand is ranked 47th, with
an overall ‘low’ rating – and has scored ‘very low’
for its climate policy. It has dropped 13 places over the
last three editions of the index.
WWF-New Zealand is
one of the expert contributors to the scorecard, and CEO
Abbie Reynolds says it is shocking to see how far New
Zealand has fallen over the past three
years.
“Aotearoa is making waves internationally for
all the wrong reasons. We’ve long traded on our clean and
green reputation, but that’s becoming increasingly
difficult to reconcile with the reality we’re facing,”
she says.
“Over the past three years we’ve seen
some really egregious backsliding as the Government has
dismantled our climate architecture, weakened climate
targets, and thrown its support behind expanding fossil
fuels.
“We know the world is not moving nearly fast
enough to reduce emissions, but New Zealand is actively
moving backwards. We’re making decisions that will lock in
more fossil fuel use, make it harder to meet our climate
commitments, and leave our country poorly prepared for the
future.
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“We are squandering our international
reputation and failing to honour our commitments to Pacific
neighbours and trading partners. The next Government –
whatever form it takes – is going to have a lot of ground
to make up,” she says.
The CCPI report specifically
highlights the Government’s weakening of New Zealand’s
methane target, ineffectiveness of the emissions trading
scheme, and continued expansion of fossil fuels.
It
points to the proposed LNG terminal as a major concern,
recommending that New Zealand abandon the project, reinstate
the offshore oil and gas exploration ban, and end public
subsidies for fossil fuels.
The ranking comes hot on
the heels of a scathing rebuke by international organisation
Climate Action Tracker, which described the pace of
New Zealand’s climate rollbacks as
“staggering”.
“We need an urgent change in
direction to restore our global credibility and transform
New Zealand from climate laggard into the leader it once
aspired to be,” says
Reynolds.
