Quick submission - Shape the emissions reduction plan

2oC of warming will be a disaster. The world as we know it would change. There will be significant impacts on human society & health, as well as the environment on which we rely on to survive. I support urgent, comprehensive, society wide action to reduce the contribution Aotearoa makes to global climate change.

This means all of society changes are needed in the development of an emissions reduction plan.
We need rapid, comprehensive reductions in all greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane from all aspects of society such as Transport, Housing, Energy, Agriculture, Waste, and Consumption.
This needs to be a Just Transition, where no one is disenfranchised or left behind.

It’s great that the proposal document says that transformational work must start now. Government is critical for key decisions that will shape the following decades so it's important they take bold action now rather than kick the can down the road for future generations to deal with. I also think some things could be faster. For example, New Zealand needs to do more not only to mitigate the harm that will inevitably happen but undo the harm human activities have done to the climate and nature. NZ has had a highly successful Covid-19 response by going hard & going early. This has resulted in strong health, economic and social outcomes. We need a similar, emergency response to climate change.

The proposal document shows that – almost two years after passing the Zero Carbon Act and almost a year after declaring a climate emergency – many of the suggested proposals have not had feasibility, costing, or estimates of their emissions savings confirmed by government departments. This is a concern and should be addressed.

The Government was not acting like there was a climate emergency. The lack of clear policy suggestions on agriculture, energy and nature-based solutions suggests that some government agencies still haven't got the message that New Zealand is committed to tackling climate change.

I do not support the Government's plan to add two million tonnes to the carbon budgets proposed by the Climate Change Commission. Any and all steps to reduce carbon emissions should be taken as soon as possible - not relying on possible (or not) future cuts.

To meet the Government’s proposed budget for the next four years, NZ needs to slash 7.7m tonnes off the tally it is tracking towards, under current policy settings.
Preliminary estimates suggest that the proposals in this document could shave off 2.6 to 5.6m tonnes, depending on factors such as how high the carbon price goes, how polluters react to that price, and finer details such as whether people embrace composting. That still leaves a gap of between 2.1m and 5.1m tonnes, even accounting for the more lenient budget. This is not good enough - this doesn’t reflect a climate emergency.

Agriculture is responsible for almost half of all climate pollution in Aotearoa and so the Government needs to work with farmers to reduce their impact on the climate. That means doing things like:
a. Supporting farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices that restore soil, water, and air quality, including funding and advice to help them do this.
b. Phasing out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, which has fuelled the growth in dairy cow numbers over the past three decades.
c. Developing a fair system for the industrial agriculture industry to pay for its emissions, like all other sectors of the economy have to through the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Reducing the impact transport has on the environment relies on the Government making the right investments so it is safe, affordable, and easy to get around without a petrol-powered car.
The Government should:
a. Invest in safe walking and cycling, especially near schools.
b. Reduce public transport fares, including making buses and trains free for children, students, and community card holders.
c. Build light rail in all our major cities.
d. Upgrade the trains between major cities to high speed electric tilt trains so people have a real alternative to flying.
e. Encourage people to trade in their old, polluting cars to receive significant discounts on new electric cars, e-bikes, or public transport passes.
f. Stop importing petrol cars into New Zealand by 2030.
g. Invest in freight rail and clean coastal shipping to get big trucks off our roads.
h. Stop investing in new urban motorways.

Aotearoa is blessed with an abundance of clean energy potential, and we need to embrace it so we can stop burning fossil fuels.
The Government should:
a. Urgently end all coal use.
b. Change the rules and provide significant incentives for people to install solar panels and batteries in their homes.
c. Put solar panels on all state homes and government buildings.
d. Expand the current support for solar panels on marae to enable more marae and other communities to build shared solar panels and share the free power from the sun.
e. Stop allowing new fossil gas connections in 2025.
f. Work with households and businesses on energy conservation and efficiency, so we use less energy overall.
g. Ban all new fossil fuel electricity generation, including fossil gas, and build renewable energy generation instead.
h. Work with the energy industry and education providers to develop a clean energy industry training plan, so thousands of people can easily get training in the skills to install solar panels and other clean energy jobs.

To honour te Tiriti o Waitangi, our emissions reduction plan needs to ensure:
- Meaningful and appropriate consultation with Māori.
- Representation in relevant decision-making groups.
- Active protection of Māori rights, interests, whenua and taonga.
- Ensuring a process of reciprocity between the Crown and Māori.

Proper consultation with Māori needs to be culturally appropriate and sufficiently resourced. Consultation should be frequent, and should start at the beginning of government policy processes. Consultation needs to uplift mana and encourage ongoing engagement. An appreciation of Maori values and their significance will reduce barriers for Māori and promote effective consultation. Consultation needs to engage extensively with iwi and hapū across the motu to take account of the discrete and diverse needs of each takiwā. Proper resourcing for Māori to participate in consultation is necessary so that the onus does not fall back on Māori, who are often already under-resourced.

We need to ensure Māori representation on relevant governing bodies such as on boards, commissions, and councils. These entities should utilise a partnership model in their operation. This representation should be genuine and should not, for example, fall onto whoever present happens to have Māori whakapapa.
The Crown has a duty to actively protect Māori rights, interests, whenua and taonga. This includes ensuring that Māori have autonomy in the management of their whenua and their capacity to act as kaitiaki. Māori also have significant interest and investment in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries which are all areas that will be affected significantly by emissions reductions and the changing climate. Māori employment in these areas is high and this will need to be considered as effects on the Māori economy could increase unemployment and reduce income, if they are not well managed.

Honouring te Tiriti means ensuring a process of reciprocity between the Crown and Māori. This means a proper consideration of the distribution of risks, opportunities, and costs during transition. Māori are equal partners to the Crown in Te Tiriti, and this distribution should reflect that. Considering that Māori land has historically been exploited to benefit the New Zealand economy, the transition to zero carbon must avoid continuing this. Factors such as where infrastructure will be established, such as that of renewable energy, are relevant to this.

I support a nature-first response to climate change. This means:
- Planting and restoring native forests to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, not just lots of pine trees.
- Phasing out the use of nitrogen fertiliser, which underpins emissions from industrial dairying and also harms our rivers and lakes.
- Creating a blue carbon strategy that embraces climate action in our oceans.
- Putting the environment first by significantly increasing our "wild areas" through the use of national parks and marine protected areas.

The main opportunities and impacts of emission reductions polices in Aotearoa are going to come from government. This is the part of New Zealand society with the agency and representation for meaningful and just climate action.

A just transition means that the organisations and companies responsible for climate change must play a role funding and driving the response to climate change.
I support the just transition principles agreed by the International Trade Union Congress and endorsed by New Zealand’s Council of Trade Unions:
- Equitable sharing of responsibilities and fair distribution of the costs across society. Polluters must pay.
- Institutionalised formal consultations with relevant stakeholders including trade unions, employers and communities, at national, regional and sectoral levels. We need to make decisions together, with everyone at the table.
- The promotion of clean job opportunities and the greening of existing jobs and industries through public and private investment in low carbon development strategies and technologies in all nations. There are huge opportunities for new clean jobs in Aotearoa including in renewable energy, regenerative and organic farming, forestry, and the high tech economy.
- Formal education, training, retraining, and life-long learning for working people, their families, and their communities. I support a Clean Energy Industry Training Plan to be developed by the Government, in partnership with the energy industry and education providers.
- Organised economic and employment diversification policies within sectors and communities at risk. I support expanding the Government’s Just Transitions work nationwide, not just Taranaki and Southland.
- Social protection measures (active labour market policies, access to health services, social insurances, among others). We need a stronger social safety net including a guaranteed minimum income and investment in free healthcare.
- Respect for, and protection, of human and labour rights.

Additionally, I would like the Minister for the Environment to make new rules to eliminate unnecessary product packaging, especially plastic packaging, so we can reduce the amount that ends up in landfills. I would like the Government to reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in landfills, for example by working with community groups to redistribute food before it goes off. As well as restoring wetlands across all of New Zealand as these are significant carbon sinks.

I would like the Minister of Energy and Resources to urgently end all coal use in Aotearoa, and set a plan to end the use of fossil gas including no new gas connections after 2025. We need to encourage clean energy like wind, solar, and hydro instead. The Government should lead the way by making all schools, hospitals, and other government buildings, 100% powered by clean energy by 2025.

I would like the Minister of Transport to build more safe footpaths and cycle-lanes, especially near schools so young people can walk and cycle to school safely. I would like the Minister to invest in light rail in our major cities and faster trains between cities so people have an alternative to flying. The Minister of Transport should set a date for the end of importing new fossil fuel cars into Aotearoa, once electric cars are more affordable. And I would like the Minister to set up a programme where people can trade in old, polluting cars and receive discounts on clean transport alternatives like e-bikes.

I would like the Minister of Forestry to prioritise restoring and expanding our native forests both in our cities and rurally, not just planting lots of pine trees.

I would like the Minister of Finance to direct all large public investment funds – like the ACC Fund and the Super Fund – to stop investing in fossil fuels and other activities that cause climate change.

I would like the Minister of Agriculture to urgently work with farmers to phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser that has been an important factor underlying increased dairying. I would like the Minister to support organic farmers and regenerative farming so we can continue producing high-quality food in a climate-friendly way

I would like all government ministers to direct the public service in their respective ministries, departments, and agencies to evaluate their operational carbon footprint and to take immediate measures to reduce them.

Lastly, I would like the government to explore alternatives to GDP and economic growth as a measure of how our country is succeeding - instead, to explore the concepts of made local with sustainable resources, de-growth, and wellness as a wholistic measure of success in New Zealand.

Twitter, experts on relevant topics, community organisations.