How green was the Budget? Billed as transformational it contains big dollops of cash for the environment, rail, ferries, housing and insulation. So you’d think that climate campaigners would be happy. Errr, nope. The Budget is a missed opportunity to reshape New Zealand to a low-emissions, high-margin economy and leaves us exposed to that other imminent threat, climate change. Listen to three experts unpack the good, the bad and tragically missing from this epic spending spree.

Rod Oram is a business journalist specialising in sustainable development, writing for Newsroom.

Amanda Larsson is the Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace NZ and an author of the Green New Deal, a plan to accelerate NZ’s progress to a low-emissions future.

Jenny Cooper QC is the president of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ.

Listen to the podcast here.

The 2020 Budget announcement suggests that the Government has been listening to the chorus of voices describing the current crisis as a unique opportunity to “build back better” and to “hit the reset button”, with both phrases appearing in the Minister’s speech. And indeed, the announcement showed welcome glimpses of a greener and more pleasant future, most notably with the commendable $1 billion green jobs package.

But despite the rhetoric, there was not much evidence that the reset button has actually been pushed yet, at least as far as climate is concerned. The Budget is missing any clear commitment to target spending towards the investments required to reduce our emissions by 2030 and keep global warming to 1.5 degrees.

LCANZI has written to the Prime Minister and the Budget Ministers' Group seeking assurances that the impact of greenhouse gas emissions will be a core part of its assessment of future stimulus spending - including the 'shovel ready' projects under consideration.

Kathryn Ryan speaks to Jenny Cooper QC regarding New Zealand’s legal obligation to factor climate change into any post-Covid recovery projects. You can listen to the interview here.

The Government has a legal obligation to use COVID-19 recovery funds to help New Zealand transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy, according to lawyers’ group, Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc.

The group has written to the Prime Minister and the Budget Ministers’ Group seeking assurances that the Government will make the impact on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change resilience a core part of its assessment of all post-COVID-19 stimulus spending, including the “shovel ready projects” currently being assessed.

The group says this is not only sound policy, but is required of the Government as a matter of law.

OPINION: When we exit from level 4 lockdown, a tremendous fiscal stimulus package will be required to revive the economy. All in all, tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent keeping businesses afloat and jobs open so that we can return to a semblance of normality as quickly as possible.

Join us and millions of other people. Switch off your lights in support of nature and our planet on Saturday, 28 March, 2020 at 8:30pm.

LCANZI Committee member and submission co-author, James Every-Palmer QC, says that while the group supports the broad direction of the proposals, it is concerned that the proposed emissions budget is too generous and the proposed price parameters are too low.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc. (LCANZI) says that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is inadequate to achieve the reductions in emissions that are needed for New Zealand to meet its international obligations and to do its part to avoid catastrophic global warming.

On 3 February, LCANZI made submissions on the Resource Management Review Panel’s Issues and Options Paper specifically addressing proposed changes to the Resource Management Act 1991.

A group of lawyers are striving to win over climate change sceptics, who have previously brushed off young advocates pushing for radical action.

On 29 August 2019, Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc. filed a letter of complaint in relation to an article on Newshub by Peter Williams, “The science is never settled”. You can read LCANZI’s letter of complaint here.

The Government has released its plan to improve freshwater in New Zealand. This includes a draft National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, draft National Environmental Standards for Freshwater, Sources of Drinking Water and Wastewater, and proposed regulations in relation to stock exclusion and water metering.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc. are holding a launch event, hosted by The Hon James Shaw, Minister for Climate Change, in the Grand Hall, Parliament at 5.30pm on Monday 25 November 2019.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ has submitted in support of clauses 22 and 23 of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ has written to Ministers David Parker and James Shaw in support of the call by the New Zealand Climate Action Network for urgent amendments to the Resource Management Act and the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act.

The Environment Select Committee has released its report and recommendations on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Bill. The report follows the public submissions period, during which Lawyers for Climate Action NZ made a written and oral submission on the Bill.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc. today welcomed the New Zealand Government’s decision to endorse the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (the TCFD) on establishing a framework for disclosure of climate-related risks in company financial reporting.  

On Monday 15 July 2019, we filed our submission on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill.

We support the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. It responds to the need for urgent action to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. But we consider there are some aspects of the Bill that could be improved to strengthen New Zealand’s climate change response and provide greater clarity in the operation of the Bill.