UN General Assembly
2019

New Zealand will once more be calling on countries to support an end to fossil fuel subsidies at the Twelfth World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, to be held in June 2020. This week, New Zealand and a group of like-minded countries will also announce the launch of a new initiative that applies trade levers to climate-related goods, services and technologies. It is time for trade deals to become a force for good on climate action. They need to stop allowing perverse subsidies that incentivize pollution and finally remove tariffs on green technology. Fossil fuel companies should no longer reap the benefits of subsidies that many, like our farmers and others, have been asked to give up. Without the billions in subsidies that go into the fossil fuel industry, green energy can compete on an even footing. It is both the most fair and economically consistent thing to do. My question is — will our fellow members of the General Assembly join us?