Fighting climate change 14,000 miles from Washington.
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Five years ago,New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was a climate star pushing the country to become one of the first advanced economies to set legally binding targets for net-zero emissions. Today, the South Pacific island nation could give the world a glimpse of what global climate policy will look like in the Trump era.
The center-right coalition of new Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who takes office at the end of 2023, is easing restrictions on fossil fuels, easing emissions rules for the steel giant and criticizing banks for lending restrictions.
The more cautious climate approach of Luxon's government — elected on a platform aimed at reviving a flagging economy — contrasts with the green promises of her predecessor Ardern. It's also an example of where other countries could go as the United States retreats from climate action and businesses and voters push back against the costs of achieving net-zero emissions targets.
Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand Photo: Brendon O'Hagan/Bloomberg
Luxon's coalition partner, David Seymour, who will take over as deputy prime minister later this year, has also raised the possibility of following the United States in exiting the Paris Agreement on emissions reductions, suggesting his ACT party could campaign on the issue in the country's national election.
"New Zealand's leaders appear to be prioritizing immediate economic benefits" over climate action, said Alice Hill, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations. "This political opportunism comes at a high price, as extreme climate change is causing ever-increasing damage." »
Climate advocates are increasingly concerned that governments around the world are reluctant to meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that only a handful of countries have met a February 10 deadline to submit more ambitious national targets to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement. In Switzerland this month, voters rejected a set of strict emissions caps proposed by a youth wing of the country's Green Party, with polls showing that citizens remain concerned about the impact on jobs and economic growth.
Luxon insists New Zealand can achieve net zero emissions by 2050, although the 2035 targets presented to the UN – which commit to reducing emissions by 51% to 55% from 2005 levels – have been criticised as lacking ambition. Other major recent changes have exempted the country's agricultural sector, which accounts for almost half of the country's emissions, from paying carbon taxes until 2030, while a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration introduced in 2018 by Ardern has been repealed.