Climate Crisis

Oxfam Aotearoa reaction to Emissions Reduction Plan

October 13, 2021

The Emissions Reduction Plan is a hodgepodge of responses from Ministers, some of whom appear to not be grappling with the very real urgency of climate breakdown, says Oxfam Aotearoa Campaign Lead Alex Johnston.

“Taking nine months to come up with a discussion document about making yet another strategy is not acceptable. With COP26 less than a month away, the government clearly isn’t taking the climate crisis with the urgency required to keep a safe climate future within reach. Aotearoa needs to do more to achieve its fair share of keeping to 1.5 degrees.

“We think of our friends, colleagues and loved ones in the Pacific and beyond who will have to continue to endure rising poverty and hunger, farmers who are losing crops, family homes being destroyed by rising sea levels, and loss of their whenua and culture.

“We urge the Prime Minister to exert leadership within the Climate Change Response Ministerial Group to get Ministers to come back to the table with policy levers that will reduce emissions further and faster, while leaving no one behind. Every sector has to play its part – this includes our agriculture sector which is responsible for half of our emissions profile, but has no new reductions forecasted before 2025. He Waka Eke Noa is not going to meet the target the Government has set itself. The handbrakes need to be taken off now to allow agriculture to play its part in our collective effort to reduce emissions.

“We call on the Government to support farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices that restore soil, water and air quality, including funding to help them do this; to bring forward the pricing of agricultural emissions in the ETS; and to phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, which has fuelled the growth in the dairy cow numbers over the past three decades.

“It is obvious that there is a missing link between the Draft Plan and level of emissions allowed in the proposed emissions budgets. There is also a huge gap between the plan, emissions and what is needed to step up our international commitments by 2030 to keep to 1.5 degrees. Much bolder action is needed to allow our domestic plan to do more of the heavy lifting in meeting our international target, which itself is too low.

“Taking bold action to reduce climate pollution is still the best opportunity we have to create a just, inclusive and sustainable world where people and planet thrive. The solutions are in our reach, and the public will back Aotearoa playing its part to make that a reality.”

Oxfam G7 Verdict: Big Issues, Little Commitments

August 28, 2019

Oxfam held a climate change protest on the eve of the G7 summit in Biarritz, as world leaders put pressure on Brazil to do more to save the Amazon rainforest from wildfires.

French president Emmanuel Macron put inequality at the top of the agenda, but G7 leaders failed to make meaningful commitments to solve the crisis they have helped create, said Oxfam at the end of the Summit.

“Held in the beach town of Biarritz, France, the G7 Summit brought very few results, which will wash away with the next tide,” said Oxfam’s spokesperson, Robin Guittard. “After failing to get all seven leaders to commit to a comprehensive effort to address inequality, President Macron opted instead for a scattershot approach of piecemeal commitments that unfortunately do not add up to much.”

G7 leaders paid lip service to the dangers of inequality, but they have encouraged and enabled this unequal system to thrive by enabling the super-rich to control politics, by underfunding public services and foreign aid, by under-taxing corporations and wealth, and by fueling climate change and sexism. Perhaps it should be no surprise that at the end of the Summit, they made no commitments to reform the global tax system, invest in universal public services like education, healthcare, and social protection, or in foreign aid. The promised feminist agenda, with the ambition to follow on last year’s Canada presidency, delivered only on limited initiatives.

New business coalitions and corporate pledges pop up on a daily basis, as they did in Biarritz, but Oxfam warns that they are not the solution to the fight against inequality and climate change.

“Everyone must do their part to address inequality and climate change, but voluntary commitments by the private sector cannot replace necessary and urgent public policy and regulations,” said Guittard. “If corporations truly want to do their part, they can start by paying their fair share of taxes in the countries they do business, ensuring gender equality in their corporations, addressing CEO-worker pay ratios, and re-directing their political influence to address inequality and climate, not making it all worse.”

Even with the daily reminders that the climate crisis is upon us, the G7 did not commit to dramatically cut emissions. While France and the UK joined Germany to pledge to the Green Climate Fund, other G7 leaders missed their chance to step up to help poor countries who bear the burden and cost of climate change.

“Time is running out and the world cannot afford to squander moments like this. As the emergencies grow and the alarms ring, the public is increasingly active, showing up in millions on the streets, and in voting booth,” said Guittard. “Public pressure is growing, with young people leading the way. If leaders won’t act, they should step aside and let a new generation take charge.”

Oxfam New Zealand’s director of advocacy and campaigns, Dr Joanna Spratt, said government action on climate breakdown is critical, and New Zealand is falling behind on its responsibilities.

“Even the bare minimum contributions announced by the UK and France at the G7 summit outshine New Zealand’s commitments to the Green Climate Fund so far. New Zealand can no longer shirk its duty to replenish this critical source of funds to battle climate breakdown, and the government now must follow suit through a substantial increase in its contribution.”

At the Pacific Island Forum earlier this month, the group of Pacific Small Island Developing States issued a statement – the Tuvalu Declaration – calling on all states to take the “prompt, ambitious, and successful replenishment of the Green Climate Fund.”

“The government must listen to the voices of small island states in their calls to resource energy transition and adaptation to the climate crisis through the Green Climate Fund, instead of re-announcing money from our existing aid budget,” said Dr Spratt.

“Globally, we need to match our lofty words with actions and significantly increase our climate finance, within a rising aid budget. A good step for the New Zealand government will be a $30m replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, with a plan for increasing our contribution further.”

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Ardern Must Meet Pacific Calls for “Prompt, Ambitious” Action on Climate Breakdown

August 16, 2019

New Zealand has been issued a stark challenge from Pacific leaders to dramatically upscale its action to address climate breakdown, Oxfam says, after a clear rallying cry from nations at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum.

Photo: Vlad Sokhin/Oxfam

New Zealand has been issued a stark challenge from Pacific leaders to dramatically upscale its action to address climate breakdown, Oxfam says, after a clear rallying cry from nations at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum.

Oxfam New Zealand’s director of advocacy and campaigns, Dr Joanna Spratt, said Ardern was facing a critical test ahead in the context of Australia’s reckless lack of action.

“Instead of re-announcing money from our existing aid budget, the Prime Minister must listen to the voices of small island states in their calls for domestic action now, reducing our emissions with more urgency; and replenishing the Green Climate Fund.

“Supporting the islands through what we say is a start – but that should be matched by our actions. We need to significantly increase our climate finance, within a rising aid budget. A good step will be a $30mn replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, something that Pacific small island developing states and leaders at this forum have demanded.”

During the Forum, Pacific Island countries reaffirmed in the strongest possible terms – as they have done for several years – that the climate crisis is a matter of survival for them.

“We may look better than Australia, but that does not mean we are anywhere near doing our fair share. Our emissions are still going up, when they should be drastically declining in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees,” Dr Spratt said.

Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report laid out the severe consequences of failing to limit warming to 1.5C and the scale and pace of global action necessary to achieve this goal. New Zealand is among a tiny minority of developed countries in which climate pollution is going up not down.

Spratt said there is a clear divide in this region between Australia recklessly undermining the future of the Pacific, and those who will stand up to fight – and New Zealand’s actions will show whose side we are really on.

“We’re pleased New Zealand supported leaders’ calls to stay below 1.5 degrees and the need for urgent action. Prime Minister Ardern is a strong advocate of climate action, both in our region and globally. We now need the policies and funding to match those ambitious words.”

The group of Pacific Small Island Developing States issued their own statement earlier in the week – the Tuvalu Declaration – calling on all states to take the “prompt, ambitious, successful” actions necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C and secure the future of our region: a swift and just transition from coal, strengthening current and inadequate contributions to the Paris Agreement, and achieving zero emissions before mid-century. These are all calls that were amplified by the UN Secretary General when he visited Tuvalu earlier this year, yet which were either absent or watered down in the Kainaki II Declaration, adopted by all Forum members including Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand’s only announcement this week was to ring-fence $150m from within the existing aid program towards supporting climate change adaptation in the region.

“While such support is of course going to be welcome, our Pacific brothers and sisters have been abundantly clear – bolder action is needed, and it’s needed now, to ensure the Pacific has a future,” Dr Spratt said.

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