Another Green win as climate change considerations inserted into the RMA

The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. 

Previously, under the RMA, climate change could not be considered. This loophole resulted in a process where decision-makers could not decline large climate-polluting projects, even if they thought the climate impacts were problematic and should be considered.

These changes are part of the Resource Management Amendment Bill which passed into law tonight.

“We’ve long called out this loophole that allowed the consenting of things like coal mines and fossil fuel power plants, without consideration of their impact on the climate.” Green Climate Change spokesperson James Shaw said today.

“The late Jeanette Fitzsimons had a member’s bill on this and campaigned long and hard, right up until last year. She, and other former and current Green MPs, particularly Gareth Hughes, raised this as an ongoing problem that needed solving.

“We are so glad in Government to have got it sorted. This aligns with our net zero carbon ambitions and will ultimately result in a safer planet for future generations.

“In my view, this is one of the most significant policy changes to address climate change that we have done this term”.

The changes will come into effect when government has developed national policy guidelines.

Latest Climate Change Announcements

Story

Greens launch petition to save oil and gas ban

The Green Party has launched a petition to save the ban on oil and gas exploration.
Read More

Story

Green voice crucial for climate action

The Green Party is today welcoming Labour’s climate manifesto, but is clear that much more will need to be done to tackle the climate crisis.
Read More

Story

Climate future of communities on the line this election

Green Party co leader James Shaw attended a South Dunedin Future street meeting today to discuss local responses to climate change.
Read More

Story

National’s climate pledge a joke

Today’s pledge from the National Party to deliver net zero carbon by 2050 is a bad-faith, disingenuous, and empty promise.
Read More

Story

National needs to come clean about climate cuts

The National Party needs to come clean about the impact of its plan to raid the climate budget and cancel $2 billion of investment in action to cut...
Read More

Story

New $750m fund part of Climate-Safe Communities plan to protect towns and cities from flooding

The Green Party has today announced a Climate-Safe Communities plan to both cut emissions and protect our communities from the impact of climate ch...
Read More