Cheap oil gives the opportunity to start exiting from it

Low oil prices give the Government the perfect opportunity to begin withdrawing its support for oil exploration and risky deep sea oil drilling, the Green Party said today.

Oil prices have fallen over the past 18 months, dropping from more than $100 a barrel to just over $30. Some analysts believe prices could sink to as low as $10 this year.

“Low oil prices present the perfect opportunity for the Government to start withdrawing its support for oil exploration and risky deep sea oil drilling,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“Oil hasn’t been this cheap since George W. Bush was President.

“We know that two-thirds of all discovered fossil fuels have to stay in the ground if we want a secure, stable climate. A good economic manager would use the low current oil price to withdraw its support for further investment in dirty energy and encourage capital to flow into the clean economy instead.

“Once oil companies sink capital into extraction, it becomes costly to abandon and that much harder to meet our Paris commitments to reduce carbon pollution.

“The Green Party would establish a Green Investment Bank to speed this transition of capital into the low carbon economy helping to finance renewable energy plants, solar panel installations, energy efficiency retrofits, and the development and the production of significant volumes of biofuels.

“Low oil prices also gives the National Government a chance to act on carbon pricing that is more difficult when prices are high.

“We’re not going to meet our Paris commitments to reduce our carbon pollution by sitting on our hands. It’s time for the Government to help businesses and consumers lead the economic transition to a clean, green economy,” said Mr Shaw.

Action

How to get involved - Treaty Principles

Information on how to make a submission, volunteer or run your own event.

Action

Submit for Climate Action

Submit today to ask the Government to commit to strong Climate Change targets.

Action

Treaty Principles - Make a submission

Join our submission. Let's make it clear that we do not support the Treaty Principles bill.

Action

Ditch the Bootcamps - Sign our petition

Sign our petition demanding an end to bootcamps for children.

Action

Build Dunedin Hospital

Take our poll on how the Government should spend its money, and email Christopher Luxon telling him your thoughts.

Action

Oil & Gas Quick Submissions 2024

Sign the quick submission to save the oil & gas ban!

Action

Stop Fast-track Destruction

Join our call to stop the Fast-track Approvals Bill.

Action

Protect te reo Māori

Sign our petition asking Minister Erica Stanford to keep prioritising the teaching of te reo Māori.

Action

Cut the Coal Petition | Join the movement

Fight back: Tell the government that coal mining is not our future.

Action

Protect Our Freshwater

Join our Green MPs in calling for the government to protect freshwater. Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act threaten New Zealand's...

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Climate Change Announcements

Story

He Ara Anamata: Greens launch Emissions Reduction Plan

Today, the Green Party of Aotearoa proudly unveils its new Emissions Reduction Plan–He Ara Anamata–a blueprint reimagining our collective future.

Government smokescreen to downgrade climate ambition

Today the ACT-National Coalition Agreement pet project’s findings on “no additional warming” were released.

You can’t bank on pine trees in a climate crisis

Today’s Government announcement to limit farm forestry conversions tinkers around the edges, instead of focusing on the real problem and stopping p...

Prime Minister shirks responsibility on global climate commitment

In an interview with Q&A this morning, the Prime Minister refused to say whether he would commit to meeting the Paris Agreement, the internatio...

NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS

The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action p...

International Energy Agency issues wake-up call on climate action

Today’s report from the International Energy Agency highlights how far this Government’s actions are dragging us backwards in the fight against cli...

Story

PREFU shows efforts to keep us all healthy, now we need to revenue raise

PREFU has given a good insight into what was required to ensure New Zealanders were largely supported to continue work and remain healthy during CO...

Sustainable business

In the wake of COVID-19, we must empower small businesses in Aotearoa to flourish, create new jobs, and support their local communities. The Green ...

Sustainable jobs

A sustainable economy means good working conditions and fair distribution of the benefits of our natural resources. As we respond to the disruption...

High tech economy

A strong manufacturing and technology sector will create jobs in low-emissions industries and ensure we can sell Aotearoa’s skills to the world. Th...

Green Party welcomes first Wellbeing Budget

“The Green Party is proud to welcome New Zealand’s first Wellbeing Budget to deliver change for New Zealanders,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw s...

Wellbeing: We need to change how we see our economy

“The Wellbeing Budget is a first step in changing the way we look at the economy and our place in it”, said Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson. ...