On Parliament’s fourth sitting day of the new government, 350 Aotearoa delivered a petition with the names of more than 2,600 New Zealanders calling for the Government to back community energy projects. Green MP Scott Willis accepted the petition from 350 activists, one of them wearing an inflatable sun costume. 350 Aotearoa has been calling on the past and incoming government to back community-based energy projects, to allow communities to implement local solutions, cut emissions and address energy poverty. Executive Director Alva Feldmeier – who delivered the petition said “Clean, homegrown energy has the power to protect our climate and usher in a new era of abundant, resilient and affordable energy for all. People in Aotearoa want the foundations of our communities to be resilient and sustainable for ourselves and for generations to come. The new climate minister Watts was talking a big game on climate saying the government signed the global pledge of tripling the world’s renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. We’re calling on Energy Minister Simeon Brown and the new government to further invest and support community and kaupapa Māori energy projects who are already leading the way across Aotearoa.” “The percentage of renewable energy in our electricity grid peaked in the 1970s, and our reliance on coal and gas has increased since! It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right leadership from central government, we could see community-led renewable energy projects popping up across Aotearoa, boosting local economies and being a critical part of the just transition to renewable energy. Community energy is a no-brainer: it keeps money in local communities, makes our energy system more resilient in the face of climate disasters, and helps households out of energy poverty.”
