New Zealand departs climate action group
In a decision that confirms the coalition government's embrace of fossil fuels, Climate Minister Simon Watts told parliament on Wednesday he had written to the alliance to signal their departure.
Since taking office in November 2023, Chris Luxon's government has repealed a Jacinda Ardern-era ban on exploration for offshore oil and gas, and fast-tracked mining projects, including for coal.
Mr Watts said those acts meant New Zealand no longer sat comfortably inside the grouping.
"The New Zealand government made the decision to withdraw, in good faith, our associate membership, and informed the alliance of this decision on 21 June, 2025," he said.
New Zealand was approached to join the alliance by co-founders Costa Rica and Denmark and did so in late 2021 alongside COP26, the UN climate conference of that year held in Glasgow.
A released cabinet paper showed Kiwi officials believed joining would be a "useful vehicle for advancing effective global climate action" and also "does not involve binding legal commitments".
Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Amanda Larson was scathing of the government's embrace of both mining and agriculture through "intensive livestock", which she said were two of the world's most polluting industries.
In May, the government was also named by the Financial Times for accounting practices which downplay the impact of methane from agriculture.
"It is the first time in Luxon's political or business career that he has made the front page of the Financial Times - and it was humiliating. He should expect more international criticism to come," Ms Larson said.
New Zealand was an associate member, alongside California and Belize, but as of Wednesday, was scrubbed from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance website.
Resources minister Shane Jones called the grouping "an indulgent, vanity-belief community".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
14 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How do you decarbonise an economy? Line by line, says Matt Kean
Kean's view is that the authority's recommendation should be based on a conservative analysis of new technologies. 'If some of those technologies come off, great, but we have tried to anchor this in tangible, deliverable technologies and outcomes,' he says. Kean had to consider the impact of the Trump administration dumping most of the Biden-era climate policies, but he also considered how the transformation of China's manufacturing of green technology was dramatically changing the economics for the better. The government will not be beholden to any recommendation that the authority finally makes, but given how much political capital it has spent developing its climate policy, it appears unlikely that Kean will be ignored. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been campaigning to secure the right to host the COP climate talks in November next year, an effort Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has endorsed. Embarrassingly for the government, it has so far failed to knock out a rival bid by Turkey. Australia's 2035 target must be credible to advance that bid. Before the authority's recommendation comes up, the government is expected to publish its National Climate Risk Assessment – a report on the effects of climate change that Australians can expect to face this century under low- and high-emissions scenarios. It is expected to be grim reading. Kean claims not to be fazed by the competing demands placed on him, and says he has lost no political friendships by working on a project still contested by parts of the Liberal-National Coalition he once served. 'My friends are still my friends and my detractors are still my detractors,' he says. 'Clearly, Labor haven't chosen me because of my political learnings. They've chosen me because of what I've delivered and in terms of what I tried to focus on when I was in government … tackling this problem in a way that tries to build consensus and bring communities together in the state's interest or the national interest ... This is not a red team/blue team challenge.' Kean is referring to his time as energy and environment minister in the former NSW Coalition government, which legislated a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035 and net zero by 2050. To win the politics, Kean first enacted the policies that would get the state on track to net zero, then urged his colleagues in the Liberal-National Party room to bank the win. The sector-by-sector approach for the Climate Authority is quite different – more akin, Kean says, to his subsequent role as NSW treasurer. Loading Either way, his work is drawing him deeper into the political and economic fray. He notes that the Productivity Commission has recommended that the authority expand its remit, a position he welcomes. 'My vision for the Climate Change Authority is for us to be the RBA equivalent when it comes to climate policy: independent, frank and fearless advice provided to the government and the public that people can have confidence in,' Kean says. 'That's what I want to build the institution to. I want [it] to be a fixture in the Australian political and policy landscape that is trusted and respected.' Outside observers are broadly complimentary about the Climate Change Authority's work. One analyst with a business group notes that the authority could have submitted politically safe set of numbers months ago and the delay suggests the work is rigorous. Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie says that under Kean, the authority has engaged deeply across the sector. Loading Leading economist Ross Garnaut says he has great confidence in the Climate Change Authority to come up with an appropriate target. 'They are doing the detailed work that I haven't, and I am very confident that they will make recommendations that are in our national interest,' Garnaut says. Kean has also been appointed to the board of The Nature Conservancy Australia and plans to advocate on the biodiversity crisis. 'Since 1788, we have had 34 mammal species go extinct, or almost one in 10,' he says. 'That's a world-leading tally we should all be ashamed of.' Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act are needed, Kean says, and should possibly include a climate trigger 'given the climate change impacts are many and accelerating in their intensity and impact'. Loading Kean says decarbonising the economy is in the overriding national and environmental interest. It's also in the interest of future generations, something Kean feels keenly as a young father to two stepchildren and two biological children. His newest child, Zoe, is just eight weeks old, and he worries that she will never see the Great Barrier Reef. 'What motivates me is the idea that we can hand our planet to our kids better than we found it, and we can hand them an economy stronger and more prosperous than we found it,' Kean says. 'I would have thought that's something that can unite all Australians.'
The Age
14 hours ago
- The Age
How do you decarbonise an economy? Line by line, says Matt Kean
Kean's view is that the authority's recommendation should be based on a conservative analysis of new technologies. 'If some of those technologies come off, great, but we have tried to anchor this in tangible, deliverable technologies and outcomes,' he says. Kean had to consider the impact of the Trump administration dumping most of the Biden-era climate policies, but he also considered how the transformation of China's manufacturing of green technology was dramatically changing the economics for the better. The government will not be beholden to any recommendation that the authority finally makes, but given how much political capital it has spent developing its climate policy, it appears unlikely that Kean will be ignored. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been campaigning to secure the right to host the COP climate talks in November next year, an effort Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has endorsed. Embarrassingly for the government, it has so far failed to knock out a rival bid by Turkey. Australia's 2035 target must be credible to advance that bid. Before the authority's recommendation comes up, the government is expected to publish its National Climate Risk Assessment – a report on the effects of climate change that Australians can expect to face this century under low- and high-emissions scenarios. It is expected to be grim reading. Kean claims not to be fazed by the competing demands placed on him, and says he has lost no political friendships by working on a project still contested by parts of the Liberal-National Coalition he once served. 'My friends are still my friends and my detractors are still my detractors,' he says. 'Clearly, Labor haven't chosen me because of my political learnings. They've chosen me because of what I've delivered and in terms of what I tried to focus on when I was in government … tackling this problem in a way that tries to build consensus and bring communities together in the state's interest or the national interest ... This is not a red team/blue team challenge.' Kean is referring to his time as energy and environment minister in the former NSW Coalition government, which legislated a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035 and net zero by 2050. To win the politics, Kean first enacted the policies that would get the state on track to net zero, then urged his colleagues in the Liberal-National Party room to bank the win. The sector-by-sector approach for the Climate Authority is quite different – more akin, Kean says, to his subsequent role as NSW treasurer. Loading Either way, his work is drawing him deeper into the political and economic fray. He notes that the Productivity Commission has recommended that the authority expand its remit, a position he welcomes. 'My vision for the Climate Change Authority is for us to be the RBA equivalent when it comes to climate policy: independent, frank and fearless advice provided to the government and the public that people can have confidence in,' Kean says. 'That's what I want to build the institution to. I want [it] to be a fixture in the Australian political and policy landscape that is trusted and respected.' Outside observers are broadly complimentary about the Climate Change Authority's work. One analyst with a business group notes that the authority could have submitted politically safe set of numbers months ago and the delay suggests the work is rigorous. Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie says that under Kean, the authority has engaged deeply across the sector. Loading Leading economist Ross Garnaut says he has great confidence in the Climate Change Authority to come up with an appropriate target. 'They are doing the detailed work that I haven't, and I am very confident that they will make recommendations that are in our national interest,' Garnaut says. Kean has also been appointed to the board of The Nature Conservancy Australia and plans to advocate on the biodiversity crisis. 'Since 1788, we have had 34 mammal species go extinct, or almost one in 10,' he says. 'That's a world-leading tally we should all be ashamed of.' Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act are needed, Kean says, and should possibly include a climate trigger 'given the climate change impacts are many and accelerating in their intensity and impact'. Loading Kean says decarbonising the economy is in the overriding national and environmental interest. It's also in the interest of future generations, something Kean feels keenly as a young father to two stepchildren and two biological children. His newest child, Zoe, is just eight weeks old, and he worries that she will never see the Great Barrier Reef. 'What motivates me is the idea that we can hand our planet to our kids better than we found it, and we can hand them an economy stronger and more prosperous than we found it,' Kean says. 'I would have thought that's something that can unite all Australians.'
The Age
17 hours ago
- The Age
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis, desperate to end Gaza war, flood streets and block highways
An end to the war does not seem near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures including the potential for mutiny within his coalition. 'Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas' position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will be repeated,' Netanyahu said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1200 people and sparked the war. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released some hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu's government. Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Sunday's demonstrations 'a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas' hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardise its security and future'. The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis. Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 aid-seekers on Sunday, including nine awaiting UN aid trucks close to the Morag corridor. Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds. He saw two people with gunshot wounds. 'It's either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,' he said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the Israeli-backed and US-supported distribution points that have become the main source of aid since they opened in May, said there was no gunfire 'at or near' its sites, which are located in military-controlled areas. An Israeli strike targeting a group of people in the Bureij camp in central Gaza killed three, according to Al-Awda hospital, which received the casualties. Loading Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions. Israel's air and ground war has killed more than 61,900 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes on Sunday, according to the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Most aid has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organisations say the flow is far below what is needed. It is not clear when Israel's military will begin the new offensive in crowded Gaza City, Muwasi and what Netanyahu has called the 'central camps' of Gaza. The military body that co-ordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, this weekend noted plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones to southern Gaza 'for their protection.' Designated 'safe zones,' however, also have been bombed during the war. War-weary Palestinians insisted they won't leave, arguing that there is no safe place in Gaza. 'There are no humanitarian zones at all,' said Raghda Abu Dhaher, who said she has been displaced 10 times during the war and now shelters in a school in western Gaza City. Mohamed Ahmed also insisted that he won't move south. 'Here is bombing and there is bombing,' he said.
