By Elishya Perera
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CWBN)_ Just a day after the Government revealed plans to pass a climate change emergency motion in Parliament, it appears that New Zealand is at risk of being excluded from a “landmark global event” for the nations which are on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Even though the government of UK was due to hold the Conference of Parties (COP), the annual UN Climate meeting in the city of Glasgow, the plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the United Nations Secretary-General and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom plan to co-host a landmark global event, dubbed “the sprint to Glasgow”, on December 12, on the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Accord.
According to the UN, the purpose of the event is to “rally momentum and call for much greater climate action and ambition.”
National governments will be invited to present more ambitious climate plans, including new financial commitments and measures to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, states are also expected to share their COVID recovery plans during the meeting.
While, the British High Commission said in a statement that the list of countries to be invited has not been decided yet, however, the New Zealand government’s failure to implement significant policies for decarbonisation suggest that the country is at risk of being excluded from the invitation list.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government passed the Zero Carbon Act last year, according to which New Zealand commits to achieve the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and under the Paris Agreement Kiwis have made an international pledge to cut emissions by 30 percent, compared to 2005 levels, by 2030.
Nevertheless, the government has been criticised for its sparse action against climate change, introducing several worthless policies that are incapable of getting the country anywhere near these international commitments.
According to projections released by the Ministry of Environment last year, New Zealand was not on track to achieve the 2030 goal, and an independent analysis conducted by Climate Action Tracker, after the economic slowdowns this year, suggested that the country is not aligned with the commitments made under the Paris Accord as well.
Bronwyn Hayward, a political science professor at the University of Canterbury, said that if New Zealand was not invited to the summit, “it will be a wakeup call to the government”. The irony is, even under [President] Trump, the US is going to have made better per-capita reductions than we have,” she noted.
She also added that if excluded from the invitation list, New Zealand would be deprived of the opportunity to learn from other countries. “It’s such a lost opportunity. The summit showcases new innovation and technology, new ideas, new businesses as well as new policy models.”
Nevertheless, Hayward hopes to see a breakthrough following the Government’s intended declaration of a climate emergency next week. She said that the country could make real progress if the climate crisis was given the necessary priority, by having it at the top of the agendas of all ministries and agencies, as with the pandemic.
Edited by Chathushka Perera
