07 December 2020 - New Zealand has declared a climate change emergency
Jacinda Ardern declares 'climate emergency' in New Zealand
Guardian News (Youtube, 02/12/2020)
New Zealand has declared a climate change emergency and committed to a carbon-neutral government by 2025, in what the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, called “one of the greatest challenges of our time".
Speaking in parliament after its introduction, Ardern said the country must “act with urgency”. Wednesday’s declaration also said the government would “demonstrate what is possible to other sectors of the economy by reducing the government’s own emissions and becoming a carbon-neutral government by 2025”. Thirty-two other nations have formally acknowledged the global crisis by declaring a climate emergency.
Jacinda Ardern formally declares climate emergency and commits to net-zero emissions by 2025
Shweta Sharma (The Independent, 02/12/2020)
New Zealand’s government has declared a climate change emergency and committed to make its public sector carbon-neutral by 2025, calling on the country to "act with urgency".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who returned to power with a landslide majority in October election, moved the motion in parliament on Wednesday and majority of parliamentarians voted in favour of the motion following an hour-long debate.
Ms Ardern said in parliament the declaration is based on findings by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which suggests emissions need to fall by 45 percent by 2023 and reach zero by 2025 to avoid more than 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global warming.
By declaring a climate emergency Jacinda Ardern needs to inspire hope, not fear
David Hall, Raven Cretney and Sylvia Nissen (The Conversation, 01/12/2020)
There is no question that we must act, and act fast, on climate change. This week’s climate emergency declaration by the New Zealand government acknowledges the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to collectively confront it.
But a declaration is not the same as action. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been frank that the declaration is a symbolic gesture: “It’s what we invest in and it’s the laws that we pass that make the big difference.”
In saying this, she echoes the sentiments of some local councils during the first wave of climate emergency declarations in mid-2019.
Aspirational goal but nothing concrete: Business reaction to climate emergency
Melanie Carroll (Stuff.co.nz, 03/12/2020)
The Government’s declaration of a climate change emergency sends a strong message but doesn’t add to the work already being done by industries, says a business lobby group.
New Zealand joins 32 other countries with the motion on Wednesday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, which signalled how the Government saw climate change but would have no effect on legislation.
All Government departments and ministries would be required to measure their emissions and offset the ones they could not remove by 2025, although the promise was not backed up by new funding.