Coalition of environmental groups launches 10-point climate action plan

A coalition of over 30 organisations from across Aotearoa has come together to launch a 10-point plan called “Climate Shift”.

It calls for urgent climate action from parties across the political spectrum in the lead-up to the election. 

The groups are asking their supporters and people across Aotearoa to add their names too at www.climateshift.org.nz 

The 10-point plan, guided by three core themes - real emissions reductions, restoring and rewilding nature, and supporting frontline communities - outlines what the groups say are the crucial steps necessary to address the climate crisis and create a better, more sustainable society.  

Some of New Zealand’s largest environmental NGOs, including Forest & Bird, Greenpeace Aotearoa, and Oxfam Aotearoa are among those calling on New Zealanders across the motu to use their voices to demand immediate action on climate change.  

Nicola Toki, Chief Executive at Forest & Bird, says: “Successive governments stubbornly ignored the lessons that should have been learnt from Cyclone Bola.  We just cannot afford the same inaction post-Gabrielle. Building higher stop banks isn’t the answer - instead, we need to work with nature, not against it. This means restoring and rewilding precious, ancient ecosystems which hold enormous amounts of carbon, and keep us safe during extreme weather events. Climate Shift is the blueprint for a safer future, for both our people and our planet.” 

Jason Myers, Executive Director at Oxfam Aotearoa says: "Climate destruction affects us all, and it requires a collective effort from all political parties if we’re to achieve the necessary emissions reductions. By joining our call for urgent climate action, we can create a future that respects Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ensures a future for our whānau here and across the Pacific for generations to come."  

Russel Norman, Executive Director at Greenpeace Aotearoa, says: “As emissions continue to rise, the climate crisis in Aotearoa has reached a critical point. Communities across the country are now experiencing the devastating consequences of government inaction firsthand. The urgent need for climate action is undeniable. We need a climate shift, where all political parties take on New Zealand’s most polluting industries - transport, energy, and agriculture - and introduce policies that actually reduce emissions. In particular, that means phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, and halving the dairy herd, to stop Big Dairy’s excessive climate pollution.” 

Climate Shift: A 10 Point Plan for Climate Action includes the following key asks:

1. End new oil, gas and coal exploration and extraction on land and at sea, and commit to the Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific. 
2. Protect communities by making room for rivers to flood safely and enabling a managed retreat from flood-prone areas, through stopping new development in coastal and river flood zones.
3. Maximise native forests’ role in absorbing carbon and in protecting communities from flooding and erosion by effectively controlling deer, goats, and possums on all public land, and implementing a native reforestation programme.
4. Transition intensive dairying to low emissions farming by phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and imported animal feed, reducing herd size, and banning new large-scale irrigation schemes.
5. Preserve the ocean’s crucial role in storing carbon by shifting to ecosystem-based fisheries management that ends bottom trawling and restores kelp forests by reversing all kina barrens.
6. Accelerate the just transition to public and locally-owned, nature-friendly, renewable electricity, including by providing grants-based and equitable finance for new renewables, such as household solar and community energy projects.
7. Transition towards high-density, low emissions communities by making public transport fares free and prioritising investment in walking, cycling, and accessible public transport infrastructure over road spending. 
8. Protect the role wetlands and estuaries play in storing carbon and softening extreme weather event impacts by doubling the area of wetlands in Aotearoa New Zealand. 
9. Ensure our laws reflect the urgency required to address the climate crisis by strengthening the Emissions Trading Scheme, legally requiring all local and central government decisions to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and establishing meaningful environmental bottom lines in new planning rules.
10. Stand with affected communities in the Pacific by renewing and scaling up our climate finance commitments, with new and additional funding to address loss and damage caused by climate change.