The Coalition is trashing our climate targets

I try really hard in this newsletter to focus on the benefits of cutting pollution. The good news we’re seeing. The awesome improvements that electrification and trains and walkable cities bring.

Some weeks, that’s not possible. Some weeks, I just need to be mad. Last week was one of those weeks.

I’m angry because the National-led Coalition is risking our trade, our international reputation, and a liveable earth with a mind-numbingly stupid choice about methane pollution.

The context of methane

Methane is a big problem and what we do about it matters. Methane makes up half of our annual planet-warming pollution. It almost entirely comes from farming cows and sheep. Dairy cows alone produce as much pollution as all the cars, vans, domestic flights and trucks in New Zealand do. Methane also heats the world far faster than carbon dioxide.

There are no silver bullets to cutting our methane: technology needs to be invented, diets need to change, and we need innovation to farm far more food with far less land and pollution. Right now, our dairy is 20% worse for the climate than Australian dairy.

But our farming communities are innovative. With the right incentives, they can lead the world in creating low pollution food products.

Without action, farmers would be left behind as the world looks for sustainable food. The more pollution New Zealand creates, the hotter the world becomes and the more in danger our farmer's crops and livestock become.

That's why the last Labour government worked with industry lobbies to create a price on methane pollution that would help spur farmers to transition to low pollution farming.

When Labour passed this price on pollution, they made a terrible political mistake. The price on methane pollution wasn't due to come in until 2025, after the 2023 election. When Labour lost, industry lobbies celebrated because the next government killed the deal and delayed pricing methane until 2030.

The Government's shameful announcement

Although National pinky promised they cared about the climate and said they would charge for methane pollution "no later than 2030", the Government has completely broken that vow.

In a Sunday afternoon press release, they announced policies straight out of a climate denier's wet dream.

First, they're trashing our climate targets. The biggest announcement was the choice to massively weaken our methane reduction goals. We’re likely one of the first countries in the world, if not the first, who has weakened legally binding pollution targets.

Next, they've promised never to charge for methane pollution. National campaigned on putting a price on methane "no later than 2030". They've brazenly broken that promise – while telling us that, actually, committing to this policy in an election doesn't count as a promise.

National wants technology, with no price on pollution, to solve the problem. Why would stressed farmers invest in technology to avoid polluting, when polluting costs nothing? A charge on methane is an important signal to incentivise farmers to adopt new tech. Don’t believe me? That’s exactly what National said during the election. Considering major companies are also backsliding on climate action, what reasons will there be to cut pollution?

Plus, this whole policy is built on pseudoscience. Essentially the Coalition wanted to change the targets so there was "no additional warming" above our 2017 methane pollution levels. It would be like telling your neighbour "I won't shit on your doorstep any more than I did in 2017," and expecting that to be as good as not shitting on their doorstep at all. The Climate Change Commission, which National and New Zealand First created, explicitly recommended against using this method.

Alongside this, the Government is changing the law so they don't break the law. The Climate Commission, last year, recommended a stronger climate target which the Government was legally required to respond to by December. Otherwise, they'd be breaking the law. Instead of following the law, they're changing it so they don't need to do respond until 2027.

This policy is so bad that it might also break international law. Excellent journalist Marc Daalder has reported that the Climate Minister admits the target is too weak to do our bit for protecting a safe climate. That means this move could be illegal under our free trade agreements with the UK and EU – which could stifle farmer's trade opportunities with those rich economies.

And... they’re making these changes with no public consultation or consensus. The previous targets were built with National and New Zealand First's agreement and heaps of consultation. The newly weakened targets will be rammed through Parliament under urgency, without the opposition's support, within the next two months. There will be no chance for us to have our say or for experts to advise Parliament. It will pass with no formal scrutiny or accountability.

No wonder they published all this on a Sunday. It’s shameful behaviour from people who don’t deserve to be called leaders.

The announcement is a steaming cow pat of broken promises thrown right at regular New Zealanders who want a safe climate for their children and grandchildren. It is the kind of act you'd only expect from a government of climate deniers.

What comes next

There are two things I'll be doing.

First, I'll be using Climate Club's submission guide to tell our leaders what we think. I don't care if they don't want to hear my thoughts on this. It's a dumb decision and it's our democratic right to tell them it's dumb.

Second, I want to organise. I want to show up to Select Committees and Council meetings. I want to join organisations mobilising our community.

Fighting for a safe climate doesn't look like eventually winning the argument and retiring happy. I wish it was like that. The reality is that every progressive cause is riddled with defeat. We take two steps forward and one step back. Failing and standing up and failing again. I know I'll die wondering if we achieved a safe planet for our children.

Sometimes I just want to sob at the callousness of it all and stop trying. But what would that achieve?

If we don't try, then the farmers who are trying to make low pollution food would have nobody to stand by their side. The families at risk of asthma from fossil fuels have nobody to shout on their behalf. My future children would have one fewer voice trying to safeguard their future.

Climate deniers want us to give up. They know what they want is unpopular. It's why they announce these awful things on weekends.

By organising our neighbourhoods, our rural communities, our cities, we can take two more steps forward. Every step back will hurt, but that's the name of the game.

I got angry last week. Now, I'm getting organised.