Lawyers for Climate Action NZ welcomes progress on Zero Carbon Bill

The Environment Select Committee has released its report and recommendations on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Bill. The report follows the public submissions period, during which Lawyers for Climate Action NZ made a written and oral submission on the Bill.

The Select Committee has recommended that the Bill be passed with a number of amendments. Lawyers for Climate Action NZ welcomes the suggested changes, which will strengthen the Bill. In particular, we welcome the adoption of our submission that the Bill should be changed to permit the courts to decide that in appropriate cases the 2050 emissions target is a mandatory consideration for decision makers to take into account. This change means that a court will, in appropriate circumstances, be able to declare that a failure to consider the emissions target makes a decision invalid.

We are, however, disappointed that the National Party members of the Select Committee did not support the amendments to the Bill. It is important that the Bill receives cross-party support in order to ensure Bill has the longevity needed to promote long-term and effective climate action.

The Bill will now have its second reading in Parliament.

You can read the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill as reported from the Environment Committee here.