The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his government does nothing to address emissions in our most polluting sector.
“Christopher Luxon’s commitment to climate action is a national disgrace and global embarrassment,” says the Green Party Spokesperson for Agriculture, Steve Abel.
“Agriculture is the biggest emitting sector in Aotearoa – accounting for more than half of our emissions. Luxon has done everything he can to make matters worse in these areas, selling out to big dairy at the expense of people and planet.
“While Luxon tries to pivot towards electricity emissions, the cow in the room remains big dairy – agricultural emissions are more than 15 times higher than electricity emissions. Luxon is patting himself on the back while pouring oil, gas and superheating methane all over the already raging climate crisis.
“Leaving agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would have been the bare minimum, however, the Government chose to do the complete opposite and remove it from the ETS altogether, further delaying critical action. Delay is the new denial and falls significantly short of ‘doing everything we can.’
“Luxon saying that he believes in climate change, then doing all the things that make it worse, has the same effect as denying climate change in the first place.
“Not only has this government ensured agriculture stays out of the ETS until 2030, but they have weakened Fresh-Water protections which does nothing to address high dairy cow stocking rates and fertiliser use that results in both increased emissions and contaminated drinking water.
“The existential challenge of our time requires politicians to step up and make decisions for the greater good of everyone – not cave to cynical industry interests at the cost of the stable climate that sustains our food production in the first place.
“There is so much more Luxon could be doing, and he knows this. Climate action warrants bold reforms, starting with our most potent emitters,” says Steve Abel.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The latest Emissions Reduction Plan shows that agriculture is responsible for 53 per cent of emissions (half of which comes from dairy) while electricity generation accounts for just 3.5 per cent.
(page 23)
