The Green Party wants future generations to know we did everything we could to prevent the climate crisis.
Unfortunately, previous governments left polluters free to profit at the cost of our kids’ and grandkids’ futures.
The changing climate means communities throughout Aotearoa and around the world are facing more extreme weather events.
During the last three years in Government the Green Party has done more for the climate than all governments for the past 30 years combined. We passed the Zero Carbon Act to set a legal framework to tackle the climate crisis, invested record amounts in public transport and cycleways, created new powers in the Resource Management Act to stop big polluting developments, and required all default Kiwisaver funds to stop investing in fossil fuels.
We need to do more. To reach our Paris Agreement commitment to stay within 1.5˚C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, we must halve our carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. This means Aotearoa must stop burning fossil fuels urgently.
A stable climate for future generations means homes heated by clean energy, real transport choices to cut the need to drive, and producing food that nourishes the environment, and people.
The Green Party will:
- Make electric cars more affordable and invest in better cycle lanes, buses, and trains.
- Roll out rooftop solar panels and electric car chargers so affordable clean energy is everywhere.
- Replace industrial fossil fuel use with clean energy and continue working towards 100% renewable electricity.
- Let emissions prices rise to incentivise polluters to switch to clean alternatives, and recycle the revenue back to households and businesses.
- Pull all government investments out of fossil fuel companies and work towards ending fossil fuel subsidies.
- Commit to a Just Transition approach, working with affected communities, businesses, and unions to create good, sustainable new jobs.
- Work with local government, iwi, hapū and communities to increase resilience and plan for the changing climate, especially in coastal areas.
- Push for Aotearoa to play a leading role internationally to reduce global emissions and uphold the Paris Agreement.
- Implement emissions budgets, following advice from the Climate Change Commission.