Shaw hits back after climate policy dig
Activist pointing out what we already know, says Minister
Greta Thunberg has taken aim atnewzealand for what she saw as the Government’s lack of action on climate change. In early December, Parliament officially declared a climate emergency in New Zealand — a move Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called an “acknowledgment of the next generation”.
It was a “declaration based on science”, Ardern told MPS on December 2.
But the response has irked environmental activist Thunberg, with the 17-year-old describing the declaration as virtue signalling with little substance.
She tweeted a line from Newsroom’s comment piece, which said: “In other words, the Government has just committed to reducing less than 1 per cent of the country’s emissions by 2025. She then added her own response, saying New Zealand’s lack of response is “nothing unique to any nation”.
“Text explaining New Zealand’s socalled climate emergency declaration. This is of course nothing unique to any nation. #Fightfor1point5.”
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has since responded to Thunberg’s dig, saying she is only pointing out what we already know while agreeing the declaration is only just a starting point of New Zealand’s climate response.
“Greta Thunberg is essentially pointing out what we already know: that we have a long way to go to narrow the gap between what our emissions are right now, and what they need to be in the future.
“We are working on this as quickly as we can and the declaration of a climate emergency is actually helping — because now every part of government is clear that action to cut emissions is a priority.
“This is what climate emergency declaration should do. It is not an end in itself, rather it signals our intent to do everything we can to tackle the climate crisis and build a better, safer future for our kids and grandkids.
“Over the next 12 months, we will agree the first three emissions budgets required under the Zero Carbon Act, publish an emissions reduction plan to meet these budgets, consider updating New Zealand’s target under the Paris Agreement, and adopt a plan to meet our international obligations for the period 2021-2030.
“Work is underway on each of these and together they will ensure we are playing our part to cut global emissions in half by 2030.”
In the Newsroom comment piece, Marc Daalder argues “the declaration of a climate emergency is just virtue signalling if it isn’t backed up by immediate, radical action to reduce emissions”.
“The Government has just committed to reducing less than 1 per cent of the country’s emissions by 2025”, he continues.