The Green Party welcomes Labour’s commitment to reduce climate emissions in the next term of Government, but would go further and faster to address the true scale of the crisis.
“Thanks to the Green Party in this term of Government, we’ve seen more action on climate change in one term than the previous three decades”, Green Party Co-leader and Climate Change spokesperson James Shaw said today.
“As the Green Climate Change Minister, I was proud to pass the Zero Carbon Act, set up the Climate Change Commission, and establish the Green Investment Fund, much of which fulfilled our Confidence and Supply Agreement with Labour.
“In the next term of Government, we’ll continue to be a productive partner, to ensure that we leave a stable climate for future generations.
“We’re pleased to see Labour agreeing to phase out industrial coal use. The Green Party has said we’ll prioritise starting this in our first 100 days, and we will push for urgency in negotiations after the election.
“The next Government needs to get serious about supporting solar power, which is why the Green Party will put solar panels on every suitable state home and cut the cost of solar for everyone by 50% – reducing power bills and emissions.
“Labour’s policy is big on electric buses – which is good – but clearly the Greens need to be at the table with our proposed Clean Car Discount to make electric cars more affordable for New Zealanders.
“We also know that more action is needed to reduce agricultural emissions, especially from synthetic fertiliser, like in the Green Party’s Farming for the Future plan.
“Labour’s policies clearly show the influence the Green Party has had, and we look forward to working with Labour to make sure the next Government’s climate change action is ambitious.”
