‘Rising seas’ visa possible

An experimental visa for people from the Pacific displaced by climate change is to be investigated by the Government.

Climate Change Minister and Greens leader James Shaw said the intention was to work with the Pacific Islands on an experimental humanitarian visa category for people from the Pacific displaced by rising seas caused by climate change.

At the same time, he did not want to send a message that the Government was giving up on the top priority, which was to ‘‘try to prevent catastrophic climate change and therefore have there be no need for people to be displaced’’, Shaw told Radio NZ.

The goal of New Zealand becoming carbon neutral by 2050 was consistent with the ambitions of the Pacific Islands.

The big question was whether there would be changes to the 2030 target, which the Greens had criticised as inadequate while they were in opposition, Shaw said.

‘‘Of course, when you have a new target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, then the existing 2030 target starts to look inconsistent with that. So we are looking at reviewing that next year.’’

RNZ reported last week that the Immigration and Protection Tribunal had rejected the cases of two families from Tuvalu who wanted to be recognised as climate change refugees. The tribunal ruled they did not risk being persecuted under the Refugee Convention.

Among those cases was that of Ioane Teitiota, who was deported to Kiribati in 2015. He applied to stay in this country as a climate change refugee.

Then-prime minister John Key said it wasn’t as if Teitiota couldn’t return to his home country.