A new report showing that the effects of climate change are already being felt in Aotearoa New Zealand shows the importance of the Green Party pushing for urgent action in the next Government.
The Our Atmosphere and Climate report sets out that climate change is already happening and could have a profound impact on future generations of New Zealanders, with extreme rainfall, heatwave days, and dry spell days increasing and frost days decreasing, as well as changes to seasons.
“We are at a crossroads in Aotearoa and our planet is running out of time. We need to be able to look back at today and say we did everything we could to tackle the climate crisis,” said Green Party Co-leader and climate change spokesperson James Shaw.
“The Green Party is the only party with comprehensive policy plans to reduce emissions from energy, transport, and agriculture. We need more Green MPs in Parliament, working in partnership with Labour, to make these plans a reality.
“The next Government will shape Aotearoa for decades to come. Throughout COVID-19, the Green Party backed our health experts and listened to the science. Aotearoa needs politicians to do that for climate change too.
“The Green Party has made more progress on climate change in the last three years than every government for the last thirty years. And there is so much more urgent work to do.
“The Green Party has shown we can work constructively with the Labour Party and bring communities, tangata whenua, businesses, unions, farmers, and all New Zealanders to the table to make change. To us, a just transition means working alongside people to tackle the climate crisis together.
“The Zero Carbon Act and ETS reforms have created the frameworks for change, but now we need to take action.
“That means rolling out solar panels on all suitable state homes, making electric vehicles more affordable, working with heavy industry to help them kick their coal habit, and reducing the use of synthetic fertiliser.
“The Green Party’s plan will create thousands of jobs to help us get through the COVID-19 recovery, while also helping protect a stable climate for future generations.”
The Green Party’s priority climate change policies are:
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