Webinar: Climate Tort Prohibition
Missed the webinar? You can watch the recording of it here.
Join us at 1:30pm on Thursday 9 July to hear from the experts who will explain the Tort Prohibition Bill and its implications.
The Government is seeking to shield major emitters from liability for climate change-related damage through the Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill (the Bill). Join us on Thursday to hear from Mike Smith, Dr David Hall and Dr Bjørn-Oliver Magsig.
Can’t make the webinar? We also have a submission hub page here, which includes Lawyers for Climate Action’s submission, an explainer from us as well as background materials that may be useful.
Mike Smith
Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) is a climate change activist, a father, grandfather, and an uncle to many as a kaumātua from Te Tai Tokerau. In 2024, the Supreme Court gave him permission to proceed with a case against Fonterra and other major emitters. The Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Bill aims to extinguish this case.
Mike will speak about his litigation and the impact the Bill will have on him.
Dr David Hall
Dr David Hall is a climate action expert, with a focus on public policy, sustainable finance, and transitions design. He is Executive Director of the Toha Network and Industry Fellow at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and holds a DPhil in Politics from University of Oxford. He publishes widely for specialist and general audiences, most recently for the Kiwis in Climate book and his regular Transition(s) Lab newsletter.
David will speak about why Aotearoa’s existing climate response is insufficient.
Dr Bjørn-Oliver Magsig
Bjørn-Oliver is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean (International) at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, where his work in public international law and climate change law explores pathways towards cooperative sovereignty.
Bjørn-Oliver will speak about the rule of law issues in relation to the Bill and the conflicts with NZ's international obligations.
Laura MacKay
Laura is Lawyers for Climate Action’s Acting Executive Director. Laura leads our programme of work focused on developing and pursuing legal pathways to accelerate New Zealand's transition to clean energy and reduce our long-term reliance on fossil fuels.
Laura will introduce the Bill and explain its intention with a high-level overview of the issues.
Submissions due 13 July at 9am
Submissions due 13 July at 9am
