2021 Demands For Government

 

What's our why:

 

We demand real, meaningful climate action be taken for the following. 

 

The Pacific Islands are submerging and have been for years. It is our duty to help them, we are their neighbours and always have been.

 

To honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and follow te tikanga me whanonga pono of Māori. It's our duty to acknowledge Māori as te tangata whenua and embody te ao Māori in all our actions and to care for and protect our whenua left to us by our tīpuna as kaitiaki o ngā whenua.

 

The cost of inaction is everything. We will lose our home, our cultures, our tangata and our whenua. While we still have time, we must act for the sake of future generations. Time is already running out.

 

Our future is being sacrificed for the profit of a few and the protection of business as usual. Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is a justice issue and a survival issue, and it’s time that it is treated as such. We need climate justice and that’s why we’re demanding it.

 

In the year 2050, many of us will be in the middle of our careers and lives, and right now we have no idea whether we will be able to live out our hopes and dreams, or whether we will be faced with the burden of frequent natural disasters, widespread suffering, refugee crises, intensified inequality, resource scarcities and war on a scale that humanity has never experienced before. That is the kind of future that science tells us we are heading towards, unless we - unless you - act now. 

 

As a developed nation, with the infrastructure and technology that we have, we should be leading the way with our ambition but also our plight to supporting those experiencing the brunt of the crisis, having done little to cause it.


 

Glossary

 

Public sector

  • We define the public sector as governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infrastructure, public transit, public education, along with health care. 

 

Non-renewable energy sources 

  •  We define non-renewable energy sources as energy created via coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy. Once these resources are used up, they cannot be replaced.

 

Unsustainable Industries

  • We define unsustainable industries as industries which are not viable for future use, as they emit high levels of greenhouse gasses, and use resources in a way that cannot be sustained long term. This includes industries such as oil & gas energy production and agriculture.

 

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1. Prohibit the implementation of, and phase out the use of fossil fuels nationwide

 

  • Prohibit the implementation of fossil fuels NATIONWIDE

  • Phase out the use of fossil fuels

  • Decarbonise public transport

  • Remove cap on local government subsidies of public transport

  • Phase out of coal boilers within the public sector

  • Ensure that the EPA must consider future impacts of fossil fuel extraction, specifically the impact on climate change, when considering applications to extract fossil fuels from companies with existing permits

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We demand that the Government continues to prohibit the implementation of  fossil fuels NATIONWIDE, and urgently phase out its use. This involves decarbonising public transport, such as implementing electric busses and electric trains, while also allowing public transport to be more accessible by removing the cap on local government subsidies (from the current 50% to wherever best suited, by local council discretion). In addition, we demand that the government prioritizes and completes the urgent phase out of coal boilers within the public sector. We further demand that the EPA consider future impacts of fossil fuel extraction, specifically the impact on climate change, when considering applications to extract fossil fuels from companies with existing permits.


 

2. Invest and Implement 100% Renewable Energy 

 

  • Phase out non-renewable energy sources to create a 100% renewable energy economy nationwide

  • Subsidise the use of green energy

  • Ensure renewable energy sources are used to power all state houses across Aotearoa

  • Implement a feebate scheme on low emission vehicles

  • Provide further funding for charging stations for electric vehicles across the country


 

We demand that the Government phases out non-renewable energy sources to create a 100% renewable energy economy nationwide. This can be achieved by subsidising the use of green energy, such as solar panel installation. Further, we demand that renewable energy sources are used to power all state houses across Aotearoa. Additionally, we demand that the Government implement a feebate scheme on low emission vehicles to increase accessibility and encourage use, while making it less appealing to own/buy high emission vehicles. This, combined with further funding for charging stations for electric vehicles across the country, will help the transition to a 100% renewable energy economy.


 

3. Invest in a just transition.

 

  • Invest in the retraining and upskilling of workers in unsustainable industries

  • Provide a range of green, clean jobs

  • Support the process of economic transition through investments and support programmes in areas reliant on high-emission sectors

  • Invest in Green infrastructure projects

 

We demand that the Government invests in the retraining and upskilling of workers in unsustainable industries, which produce high levels of emissions, to enable them to transition into climate-friendly industries. This, combined with green, clean jobs, will help this transition. Additionally, this will make our economy stronger and more resilient, enabling it to recover from another economic crisis while increasing its sustainability. Communities worst affected in areas reliant on high-emission sectors such as mining and oil, should be supported throughout the process of economic transition through investments and support programmes. We also back Green infrastructure projects, particularly as the government is investing significant amounts of financial support in infrastructure spending in the response to Covid-19.

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4. We demand that the Government honours its responsibility to our Pacific Island neighbours

 

  • Ensure New Zealand’s domestic climate policies align with the Paris Agreement 1.5 goal

  • Release a public adaptation plan for Climate Change survivors to migrate to New Zealand with dignity

  • Actively support the regional and international diplomatic efforts of Pacific Islands Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) to increase climate ambition and mitigate the climate crisis

  • Double levels of climate finance to the Pacific and support the efforts of Pacific states to protect their home

 

By ensuring its domestic climate policies align with the Paris Agreement 1.5 goal; by releasing a public adaptation plan for Climate Change survivors to migrate to New Zealand with dignity; and by actively supporting the regional and international diplomatic efforts of Pacific Islands Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) to increase climate adaptation and mitigate the climate crisis that the Pacific Islands are already on the frontlines of. New Zealand holds a dismal ranking of 21st out of 23 developed countries regarding climate finance provided per person, according to Oxfam’s briefing on New Zealand policy entitled Standing With The Frontlines; we must double levels of climate finance to the Pacific and support the efforts of Pacific states to protect their home.


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5. Agriculture Emissions:  

 

  • Promote sustainable methods of farming such as regenerative farming

  • Invest in cleaner agricultural resources and processes

  • Invest further research and development into alternative methods of emission reduction for this sector

  • Launch and fund an independent inquiry (including research & development) into cleaner and more sustainable fertilizers

  • Provide support from Central Government to farmers, in order for them to transition to sustainable farming practices

 

Nearly half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, a sector vital to our economy. We demand that the Government takes action on agricultural emissions. This involves a promotion of sustainable methods of farming such as regenerative farming and investing in cleaner agricultural resources and processes, as well as further research and development into alternative methods of emission reduction for this sector. Additionally, we demand that the Government launches and funds an independent inquiry (including research & development) into cleaner and more sustainable fertilizers, in order to lessen the pressures current local farmers are facing, financially and mentally, due to the climate crisis we face. We acknowledge that farmers are not ones to be blamed, but rather that this crisis must be addressed collectively, with support from Central Government, in order for them to sustainably transition comfortably.

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6. Climate Education:  

 

  • Teach the basic foundations of science behind climate change, as well as it’s economic, social, and cultural impacts

  • Teach topics through a Te Ao Maori perspective

  • Include the current international and domestic state of climate policy and agreements

  • Implement compulsory climate education within public & state integrated schools stretching from Year 1 to 10 & in NCEA subjects where relevant. 

 

We demand that Climate Change be taken more seriously within the education sector. This involves teaching the basic foundations of science behind climate change, as well as it’s economic, social, and cultural impacts. We further believe that such topics should be taught through a Te Ao Maori perspective in order to understand the social, and cultural impacts such a crisis we face is having. We demand that such teaching must include the current international and domestic state of climate policy and agreements (e.g. Paris Agreement, Zero Carbon Act, Emissions Trading Scheme). Lastly, we demand the Government implements compulsory climate education within public & state integrated schools stretching from Year 1 to 10. Additionally, the Government must integrate this issue into NCEA level subjects where possible, achievable and relevant, for example in Geography, Biology and History. Education is the crucial step to ensuring the people of New Zealand are aware of and understand societal issues such as climate change, and it has guided us to where we stand today. By allowing and encouraging the open knowledge, and impacts of climate change, we will better set up the youth of today, as well as future generations, to fight and address the crisis we face today.