Luxon Has A Cow-Shaped Hole In His Government’s Bogus Climate Plan – Greenpeace

The Government’s re-jigged emissions plan has a giant cow-shaped hole in it, exposing a climate strategy that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Greenpeace spokesperson Rhiannon Mackie says, “Luxon’s claim to care about climate action rings hollow after the announcement of this bogus plan, while New Zealand is still recovering from the impacts of the latest climate change-fuelled natural disaster.”

“New Zealand’s biggest climate polluter is the intensive dairy industry, led by Fonterra. But Luxon’s Government has stripped away any actions that would have had an impact on reducing agricultural climate pollution – while downplaying the climate impacts of giving our worst polluting industry a free pass on its pollution.

“The Prime Minister seems more interested in protecting the bottom lines of the most polluting industries, rather than communities who are on the frontlines of climate change.

Luxon’s Government said today that removing methane from ETS and getting rid of Carbon Capture and Storage plans would have no impact on the emissions budget for the second Emissions Reduction Plan – a statement which Greenpeace says is deeply disturbing. New Zealand is currently not on track to meet our 2050 emissions targets – which have also been weakened by the Luxon Government.

Mackie says, “Luxon’s climate targets have never been based on science or modelling. He has repeatedly ignored the advice of the independent Climate Commission, and now his Government is refusing to acknowledge the true impact that their destructive policies will have on our climate.”

“In the past week, New Zealanders have seen the devastation the climate crisis is already causing. Communities are grieving, lives have been lost, and homes have been destroyed. These are the real-world consequences of the Luxon Government’s climate rollbacks.

“Cutting climate pollution at the scale required means confronting agricultural emissions, including reducing herd numbers and supporting a rapid transition to ecological farming. Anything less is not a credible climate plan.”