New Zealand Government Faces Legal Challenge Over Emissions Plan
The Environmental Law Initiative and Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc have launched the action against the Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts, according to a statement Tuesday in Wellington. They allege the government's plan fails to meet key requirements of the Climate Change Response Act.
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19 hours ago
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Groups sue Trump agencies for using 'secret' report to reverse core of US climate rules
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two major environmental groups announced on Tuesday they have sued the Trump administration for secretly convening a group of climate skeptics, which prepared a report that served as the basis for a reversal of U.S. rules on greenhouse gas emissions without public notice. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed the lawsuit in a federal district court in Massachusetts, arguing that the so-called Climate Working Group that Energy Secretary Chris Wright put together, evaded public view, delivered erroneous results and was illegally used to inform the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to reverse the scientific finding that served as the foundation for federal climate regulation. The lawsuit names Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin as defendants. Both were not immediately available for comment. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The preparation and use of the report has raised concern that the United States is rejecting the mainstream consensus about the causes and impacts of climate change at a time that more severe storms and record-breaking temperatures cause trillions of dollars in damage around the country. Downplaying the impacts of climate change and eliminating U.S. climate data collection and reports also takes away the urgency for the U.S. to shift away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy. KEY CONTEXT Through the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Congress requires public disclosure and public records in the establishment and operation of any federal advisory committee. KEY QUOTE 'Decades of rigorous scientific analysis shows burning fossil fuels is unequivocally contributing to deadly heat waves, accelerating sea level rise, worsening wildfires and floods, increased heavy rainfall, and more intense and damaging storms across the country. We should all relentlessly question who stands to gain from efforts to upend this unassailable and peer-reviewed scientific truth,' said Gretchen Goldman, president of UCS.
News24
a day ago
- News24
New Zealand PM Luxon slams Israel's Netanyahu over Gaza war: ‘I think he has lost the plot'
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The situation in Gaza was unacceptable, Luxon said. New Zealand is weighing whether it should recognise a Palestinian state. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday that Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu had 'lost the plot' as the country weighs up whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Luxon told reporters that the lack of humanitarian assistance, the forceful displacement of people and the annexation of Gaza were utterly appalling and that Netanyahu had gone way too far. 'I think he has lost the plot,' added Luxon, who heads the centre-right coalition government. 'What we are seeing overnight, the attack on Gaza City, is utterly, utterly unacceptable.' Luxon said earlier this week New Zealand was considering whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would do so at a UN conference in September. AFP The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached 'unimaginable levels', Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies. Ahead of Wednesday's parliamentary session, a small number of protesters gathered outside the country's parliament buildings, beating pots and pans. Local media organisation Stuff reported protesters chanted 'MPs grow a spine, recognise Palestine'. Yael Guisky Abas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images On Tuesday, Greens parliamentarian Chloe Swarbrick was removed from parliament's debating chamber after she refused to apologise for a comment insinuating government politicians were spineless for not supporting a bill to 'sanction Israel for its war crimes'. Swarbrick was ordered to leave the debating chamber for a second day on Wednesday after she again refused to apologise. When she refused to leave, the government voted to suspend her. 'Sixty-eight members of this House were accused of being spineless,' House speaker Gerry Brownlee said. There has never been a time where personal insults like that delivered inside a speech were accepted by this House and I'm not going to start accepting it. Gerry Brownlee As Swarbrick left, she called out 'free Palestine'. Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as little as two weeks ago he would not be drawn on a timeline for recognition of a Palestinian state. His incumbent centre-left Labour Party, which won an increased majority at a general election in May, has previously been wary of dividing public opinion in Australia, which has significant Jewish and Muslim minorities. But the public mood has shifted sharply after Israel said it planned to take military control of Gaza, amid increasing reports of hunger and malnutrition among its people. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across Sydney's Harbour Bridge this month calling for aid deliveries in Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsened. 'This decision is driven by popular sentiment in Australia which has shifted in recent months, with a majority of Australians wanting to see an imminent end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,' said Jessica Genauer, a senior lecturer in international relations at Flinders University.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New Zealand lawmaker who called opponents spineless over Gaza is ejected from Parliament a 2nd time
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand lawmaker who was thrown out of Parliament for calling her opponents spineless during a fiery debate about a Palestinian state was ejected again on Wednesday when she refused to apologize for the remark. Chlöe Swarbrick, co-leader of the left-leaning Green Party and part of the opposition bloc, was ordered to leave parliament on Tuesday over a speech in which she called for government lawmakers 'with a spine' to endorse her proposal for New Zealand to impose sanctions on Israel over the war in Gaza. She was hit with a three-day ban — lengthy by New Zealand parliamentary standards — but returned the next day only to be ejected a second time. Her censure came amid fraught scenes in Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday as opponents rebuked the government for not moving to recognize an independent Palestinian state, days after neighboring Australia pledged to do so. Countries including France, Britain and Canada are also expected to recognize a state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. 'We are one of the very few countries in the world who so far refuse to acknowledge the absolute bare minimum,' Swarbrick said. Calling opponents spineless prompted the ejection The Green party lawmaker was abruptly ejected from the debating chamber when she urged government politicians to join her in a proposal to sanction Israel, which currently wouldn't have enough votes to pass into law. 'If we can find six of 68 government MPs with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history,' Swarbrick said, referring to other Members of Parliament. 'That is completely unacceptable to make that statement,' Speaker Gerry Brownlee interrupted. 'Withdraw it and apologize.' The Green politician refused. Brownlee told her to leave the debating chamber for the rest of the week. 'Happily,' Swarbrick said. The standoff resumed when Swarbrick took her seat again on Wednesday despite the ban and Brownlee asked again if she would apologize. Swarbrick declined and was ejected once more, yelling 'free Palestine' as she went. Brownlee took the serious step, rare in New Zealand's Parliament, of taking a vote to 'name' Swarbrick for her misconduct, a ruling that means a legislator is formally suspended with their pay docked. The vote passed, with all government lawmakers endorsing it. Opposition lawmakers claim double standards The measure provoked fresh debate in Parliament about punishments for unruly behavior. Government lawmakers voted in June to enact unprecedented lengthy bans of opposition Māori Party lawmakers who performed a haka chant to protest a controversial vote. On Wednesday, opposition politicians decried Swarbrick's penalty as unusually severe, with lawmaker Willie Jackson highlighting his own ban of just 30 minutes for calling one of his colleagues a liar, before he was allowed to resume his seat without an apology. In another recent example, a government politician used an eye-watering expletive without censure, supporters of Swarbrick said. Several others had escaped punishment in recent years when using the word 'spineless' about their opponents. Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said it was unprecedented for a lawmaker to be ejected from Parliament for a second day over the same offense. Brownlee, however, said he had drawn a line when Swarbrick directed a personal insult at all 68 government lawmakers — including him. 'We have so many threats and other stuff being directed at Members of Parliament,' he said. 'If we don't change the behavior in here, nothing will change outside.' Pressure grows to decide Palestinian statehood question Meanwhile, the government continues to mull recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Wednesday made his most strident rebuke yet of Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Israel leader 'has lost the plot' on the 'human catastrophe' in Gaza. 'I think Netanyahu has gone way too far,' Luxon told reporters. 'He is not listening to the international community and that is unacceptable.' While senior New Zealand officials, including Luxon, have said recognition of Palestine from their government was 'a matter of not if, but when,' his Cabinet has yet to endorse a change of position. A decision will be made in September after further consideration, Luxon said Monday. Solve the daily Crossword
