New Zealand Just Declared a Climate Emergency. What’s Next?
By: Ashley Hague
Tags: Electric Vehicles, Politics, Climate Change, Policy, New Zealand

New Zealand Just Declared a Climate Emergency. What’s Next?

Pledging carbon neutrality is a start, but we need more.

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

This week, Aotearoa New Zealand joined 32 other countries and more than 1800 municipalities in declaring a climate emergency. The notion passed in Parliament 76–43 with only the National and ACT parties holding out. While it may seem like a good step moving forward, will it be accompanied by actions, or is it virtue signaling at its finest?

New Zealand has been touted many times as a climate leader, but the reality is that it has consistently failed to meet its goals. When looking at the goals set out by the Paris Climate Agreement, Climate Action Tracker rated New Zealand “insufficient,” failing to take the actions needed to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That insufficient rating was from July 2020, eight months after New Zealand passed the Zero Carbon Act, which promised zero carbon by 2050. Unfortunately, that act has failed to make any meaningful progress on climate change at all. Will this Climate Emergency Declaration be the same?

One reason for the failure of the Zero Carbon Act is that it merely laid the framework for carbon reduction goals instead of setting forth specific plans to get there. This time, around, New Zealand didn’t make the same mistakes.

While the Climate Emergency Declaration is purely symbolic, with it came a plan to make the public sector carbon neutral by 2025. As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remarked, “We must get our own house in order… how can we take a leadership position amongst the private sector unless we take the same action that we expect of them?”

I do believe that governments should be at the forefront of climate change solutions, but how does this pledge stack up? This plan lays out three specific actions to take to get there, making it a more comprehensive look at climate change, but overall falls well short of the needed emission reduction.

Electric Vehicles for All Government Agencies

In October 2019, there were just 78 electric vehicles in the nearly 16,000 amongst the public sector fleet. This year, they’ve nearly doubled that by bringing 68 new EVs into the mix. Still, it’s less than 1% of all public sector vehicles — a far cry from the ambitious goal set out in this week’s pledge. The public sector would have to replace an average of eight cars a day to reach this goal. Ambitious goals are what we need if we want to curb climate change, but it seems impossibly far-reaching.

Coal Boilers to Be Replaced

Currently, there are about 200 coal boilers in the public sector across New Zealand, including at hospitals and schools. These all must be replaced according to the plan set out this week. This goal dates back to January of this year when NZ$200 million were allocated to do so — NZ$80 million has already been allocated. These boilers would need to be replaced with electric or wood-powered boilers before the 2025 deadline. Yet, doing so will only reduce New Zealand’s emissions by 26,000 tonnes — out of 78.9 million annually. Probably not the best use of resources when the climate crisis is so pressing.

Energy Efficient Buildings

Building efficiency is an important aspect of reducing emissions and converting energy, but might not be the highest priority in the fight against climate change. Yet, starting immediately, government agencies will have to ensure a 4-star rating on the NABERSNZ scale for all new leases. For new builds, this will be a 5-star rating. Beyond that, by the end of 2025, all government agencies will have to have measured and reported their buildings’ energy efficiency and work toward improving or offsetting carbon emissions.

Carbon Neutral or Hidden Costs

With these three main plans laid out, what happens if the government agencies can’t succeed? Climate Change Minister James Shawn admits he knows that full neutrality will not be possible in the tight five-year time frame but believes that the ambitious goal “is to make sure we lead by example.” By 2025, these government agencies must have net-zero emissions, and if they cannot, they must offset any remaining emissions.

But in the grand scheme of things, carbon offsetting is a short-term solution that makes us more complacent. If we believe our actions, and the actions of the public sector, are carbon neutral, we won’t be as willing to hold them accountable to more ambitious goals. Also, at best, carbon offsetting doesn’t work most of the time, and at worst, can cause indigenous land and human rights abuses. The New Zealand government needs to recognize that and put in place checks to ensure their offsetting scheme is effective and non-problematic.

Becoming a True Climate Leader

The goal of having a carbon-neutral public sector is important for climate visibility, but only a small piece of a very large puzzle. For New Zealand to truly address its emissions and stay on track with the Paris Climate Accord, they will need more than a carbon neutral government.

First of all, the biggest emitter of carbon in New Zealand is the agriculture industry. To truly make an impact on our overall goal, New Zealand needs to seriously consider its relationship with meat and dairy — in other words, it needs a complete overhaul. While many in the agriculture sector recognize its impact, it is not enough to change the system quickly. Instead of EVs and energy-efficient buildings, the government should focus its efforts on helping farmers mitigate the effects of livestock methane and educate citizens about the food system.

Second, New Zealand needs to be a leader at the forefront of clean energy instead of a “fast follower.” In 2019, only 40% of our primary energy came from renewables. Considering the vast amounts of renewable resources New Zealand offers — solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro — this number is far too low. By embracing the abundant resources we already have at our hands, New Zealand truly can be the climate leader so many believe it is. Until then, we will watch as other countries pass us by in the renewable race.

A climate emergency declaration is a good thing at bringing the issue front and center. And complimenting that with a carbon-neutral pledge is even better. But without larger-scale changes, New Zealand won’t meet its Paris Agreement goals. So in the meantime, I’ll continue to reach out to my MPs, rally around causes such as 350 Aotearoa, and push for better sustainable living in my own life. Because we need radical, unending pressure to truly make New Zealand a greener, carbon-free nation.