"We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5 degree limit agreed in Paris. Some governments and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. Simply put, they are lying,"
"This report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises. It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unliveable world."
-United Nations secretary-general António Guterres.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from the worlds top climate scientists makes for pretty grim reading. Despite decades of promises to reduce our carbon emissions, we’ve increased them. And I mean we - New Zealand is one of the worst performers.
"Two in five people worldwide live in a country with annual emissions of less than 3 tonnes of greenhouse gases per person. ... In New Zealand, that figure is 17 tonnes."
So much for our 'nuclear free moment' or 'climate emergency' or whatever the latest political buzzword is. Successive governments and councils have failed to act, leading to more emissions. In fact many of the plans and policies that have been put in place have led to increases emissions - the absurd $37B Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) confirmed last year claimed to reduce it by 1%, but relied heavily on EVs which will not deliver fast enough nor are they a realistic solution for many.
While Auckland Council has proposed a new Climate Action levy to fund $1B in dedicated actions, they couldn’t provide any estimates on what the impact would be. Under Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan, the goal is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. The bulk of this is transport and with less than 8 years left, we need to move faster.
Despite all the talk, we're well behind where we need to be. Lack of action is embarrassing for a nation that has promoted itself based on our love for the environment. The Climate Action Tracker shows what we're really doing to help our planet and our people - not enough. And before anyone says "but we can't afford that" - the cost of inaction will be much, much higher.
We're running out of time - we need real climate action now.