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Lawyers for Climate Action NZ told an Auckland Council meeting on March 27 that the government needs to tread carefully with its transport plans or risk legal action.
Under the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024, climate change is not a strategic priority. This means decision makers such as Waka Kotahi NZTA would not need to consider it when making transport investments.
Lawyers for Climate Action executive director Jessica Palairet said New Zealand was not on track to meet its international legal obligations to reduce emissions under the Paris Agreement.
“The government has a good faith and due diligence obligation to meet them – we are talking about our overarching goal to reach net zero by 2050,” Palairet said. “We are concerned that the draft GPS takes us well off track to meeting our climate targets and commitments. That could result in legal problems for the government moving forward.”
All Aboard Aotearoa executive director Magalie Ménard called the GPS an embarrassment.
“The significant shift of investment away from the already underfunded safe and sustainable travel plan to roading, exacerbates the roots of the climate crisis,” Ménard said.
All Aboard Aotearoa board chair Paul Winton said the draft GPS was a great document if the goal was to “strangle a city with cost, congestion and carbon”.
“Your submission nails the absurdity of the draft GPS, which permits investment only when demonstrated volumes of pedestrians and cyclists already exist,” Winton said.
He said the draft GPS reached into local government decision-making to make it harder to deliver on emissions reduction.
Cr Shane Henderson asked whether legal action had been taken against overseas governments who had not taken action on climate change.
Palairet confirmed this had happened.
“Climate litigation internationally is a really effective way of holding decision-makers to account and we are seeing that in New Zealand – we are already bringing cases against the government in terms of lack of ambition and lack of compliance,” Palairet said.
“The government should be thinking quite carefully about the steps it takes because it needs to comply with its obligations. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing.”
