New Zealand Declares Climate Emergency
New Zealand has declared a climate change emergency and pledged a carbon neutral government by 2025, as grim predictions for our warming planet are laid out in a new report.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called the climate crisis “one of the greatest challenges of our time” as she declared a climate emergency, joining 32 nations including Canada, France, and Britain, in laying out long-term plans to reduce emissions.
The country’s newly sworn-in parliament has pledged to lead by example. Ardern stated the public sector will be carbon neutral by 2025: purchasing only electric or hybrid vehicles, reducing its car fleet by 20%, and phasing out all coal-fired boilers from public service buildings as it establishes a new green standard.
Moreover, the government will introduce the first of three emissions budgets in 2021, consider more ambitious targets for New Zealand under the Paris Agreement, and adopt a plan to fulfill international obligations between 2021-2030, which includes cutting global carbon emissions in half by 2030.
“As we accelerate our economic response to COVID-19, this will not only create a better future for our children and grandchildren but will also unveil new economic opportunities within low carbon industries, consequently generating good, well-paid jobs across the country,” climate minister James Shaw stated on Wednesday.
It comes as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that 2020 is on track to become the hottest year on record. According to the UN agency, the decade from 2011-2020 will register as the warmest on record, with the six highest temperatures occurring since 2015. The WMO remarked that 2020 has emerged as “yet another extraordinary year for our climate” characterized by extreme temperatures, flooding, drought, and a record number of hurricanes.
