Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): I rise to speak in opposition to this motion because I think we should be straight with New Zealanders. This declaration will have no measurable impact on global climate change. I know it the Prime Minister knows it and I reckon even Chlöe Swarbrick knows it. It won't take a single car off the road. It won't reduce the methane from a single cow nor remove a single tonne of carbon dioxide from the air. The motion before us employs all the implied drama of the word emergency" but it does so with zero practical effect. It is unfortunately yet another collection of words in place of the sincere policy and concerted action New Zealand must take to drive down our emissions. Let's reflect on the history of political statements about New Zealand's climate change ambitions: a carbon-neutral nation the world's first truly sustainable nation the nuclear-free moment for our generation and today the declaration of a climate emergency. It is time we realised that these carefully worded ambitions are no substitute for meaningful policy reform. So let me be very clear and I say this especially for those who might try to use this debate to mislead New Zealanders: there is no doubt that climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our time nor do I doubt that it will be the greatest challenge environmentally for my children's time to come. When our kids look back on this moment in history they won't judge who was on the right side or the wrong side by what words were spoken; they will judge us by our actions. I am very firmly of the view that climate change threatens our world and our communities that the production of greenhouse gas emissions by people is its cause that New Zealand must act to reduce our emissions and of course that Parliament has a solemn responsibility to take steps to achieve that. Of course the National Party is on board with the global mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Kieran McAnulty: Really?NICOLA WILLIS: Yes it is a mission we share with New Zealanders up and down the country. I remind this House as my colleagues the Hon Simon Bridges and Stuart Smith did that the previous National Government signed the Paris Agreement we supported the zero carbon Act and the creation of the independent Climate Change Commission and we continue to promote sensible policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But it is not at all clear how this declaration will take us a single step further forward.Traditionally of course New Zealand has declared emergencies in the context of our Civil Defence Emergency Management Act and it's instructive to look at the special powers that that Act brings forward: powers to remove vehicles to evacuate premises to make rescues to remove dangerous structures requisition equipment restrict access to public spaces—all of these and more. The emergency declaration today is completely empty of any such powers. Is it any wonder I feel cynical? Because let's remember this is a Government that again and again has reached for the easy gestures of political symbolism and yet time after time has failed the hard test of policy delivery. My suspicion is that the Government intends this motion to distract from its record its failure to stabilise let alone reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions; to distract from its failure to accelerate electric vehicle take-up its failure to reduce reliance on coal-fired energy generation its failure to accelerate breakthrough technology that would reduce not only our agricultural emissions but agricultural emissions throughout the world its failure to produce a meaningful plan to implement our existing emission reduction targets; to distract from its preference for policies that fit in neat phrases like "100 percent renewable energy" but that are not approved by the independent experts and that result in renewable energy use dropping to 82 percent.My sense is that New Zealanders do expect more from our Parliament on climate change but they are not asking for more flowery words. They want sensible carefully thought through policies that will move our country forward. So let's spend less time on meaningless declarations and much more time on the hard work of actually reducing emissions."