High Court climate case ruling welcomed by Government

The High Court has confirmed the legality of the advice provided by the Climate Change Commission to inform New Zealand’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) and the first three emissions budgets.

Climate change minister James Shaw says New Zealanders can have confidence in the commission and of the Government’s plans to tackle climate change, which include the Clean Car programme and the Low Emission Transport Fund.

“The non-political Climate Change Commission is a critical part of the legislative framework we have put in place to drive climate action across successive governments and generations,” says Shaw.

“I have always regarded the advice it has provided the Government as exceptionally high quality – based on rigorous science and expert analysis. The ruling confirms that.”

The court case was brought by Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc and concerned the calculations and accounting methods the commission used to formulate its advice. That advice informed the Government’s decision last year to amend New Zealand’s NDC for 2021 to 2030 as part of its international obligations under the Paris Agreement.

“I don’t believe the intention of these proceedings was ever to slow down or derail our response to climate change. Rather, it was a way of testing the system, making sure we had the settings right. And I think that’s actually very healthy,” says Shaw.

“This particular case has highlighted some potential points of confusion in the way we have set our targets, and that’s something I will be looking into regardless of the outcome.

“Having just returned from COP27 in Egypt, where progress was as frustratingly slow as ever, my focus is now squarely on the need for urgent domestic action to cut emissions, limit warming, and prepare for the climate impacts we cannot avoid.”