New Zealand

Oxfam responds to New Zealand International Climate Finance Strategy – Tuia te Waka a Kiwa

August 26, 2022

In response to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Climate Change Minister James Shaw’s Aotearoa New Zealand International Climate Finance Strategy – Tuia te Waka a Kiwa, Oxfam Aotearoa Communications and Advocacy Director Dr Jo Spratt said:

“This is a substantial piece of work that was well-consulted, carefully considered and provides a solid framework to guide significant investment from the New Zealand Government. We are pleased to see a Pacific-led approach that makes way for our Pacific whānau to build climate resilience on their own terms.

“We are also pleased to see the Government acknowledge that too often communities are not included in how climate finance is allocated, and Minister Mahuta and Minister Shaw’s willingness to make sure communities are able to benefit from it. It is good to see a focus on equity and inclusion for the people who are so often left out and left behind.

“It is excellent to see recognition of both the economic and non-economic costs of climate destruction that communities cannot adapt to and the willingness of Aotearoa to promote countries’ access to finance to address loss and damage. We look forward to engaging with the Government on this in the lead-up to COP27 where loss and damage will be a focus. Other mechanisms, not just mitigation and adaptation, will be necessary to address the unavoidable loss and damage people in the Pacific and beyond face every day.”

Oxfam reacts to Commission’s advice on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

July 28, 2022

Oxfam Aotearoa welcomes the latest advice from the Climate Change Commission to the Government calling for an urgent decision about how it will prioritise emissions reduction in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). Oxfam Aotearoa Interim Executive Director Dr Jo Sprat said:

“The Commission is on the right track: All sectors of Aotearoa’s economy, including agriculture, need to do their fair share in reducing climate pollution.

“Aotearoa can’t just rely on planting permanent pine forests, or paying other countries to reduce emissions for us. The role of international carbon credits and carbon off-setting, including whether these will be integrated into the ETS or kept separate is as clear as mud. The Government must urgently provide clarity, just as the Commission recommends.

“What also concerns us is how the Government will make sure human rights are upheld, including indigenous and community land rights. If it is not done right, using international credits as an alternative to reducing our own carbon emissions from industries like agriculture could do serious harm to communities – especially those on the frontlines, such as our Pacific friends and family who experience the worst impacts of climate destruction every day.

“The Commission’s advice underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive plan for a just transition, in consultation with tangata whenua and all communities, to support a move to a less polluting and more equitable economy in Aotearoa. We couldn’t agree more. A just transition would make sure the rising cost of carbon pollution in the NZ ETS doesn’t unfairly fall on those least able to pay.”

Stand with us, for climate justice now

Get frontline communities the loss and damage finance they need

It started with children planting trees. Thousands of them. In Kenya, Elizabeth Wathuti set up an initiative encouraging young children to love nature and be environmentally conscious. Now, Elizabeth is demanding justice for the people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by climate breakdown. She is hoping to influence the most powerful people as they choose whether to do what’s easy or what’s right.

As many as 28 million people across East Africa are at risk of extreme hunger if rains fail again. Kenya has suffered a 70 percent drop in crop production and has declared a national disaster with 3.1 million people in acute hunger, now in need of aid. We cannot ignore the huge economic and non-economic damages that the climate crisis is causing.

But in the UN climate negotiations, rich countries including New Zealand, have fiercely resisted progress at every turn. This inaction continues despite calls going back 30 years for a global fund to support recovery from damages caused by climate change.

Elizabeth is calling on leaders to act now by delivering a dedicated finance facility to help frontline communities deal with the loss and damage they are already experiencing – and which we know will only get worse¹. This letter will be delivered to those in charge of negotiations at the UN Climate Talks later this year.

Scroll down to read Elizabeth’s full letter and add your name to demand climate justice now.

Diyaara stands among the carcasses of her family’s livestock. Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are experiencing the driest conditions in 40 years with as many as 28 million people across East Africa facing severe hunger.

Elizabeth’s open letter:

Dear Minister Sharma and Minister Shoukry,

You are jointly responsible for guiding the UN climate change negotiations at what is a watershed moment in human history.

I urge you to meet this challenge with compassion and courageous leadership, which is what will be needed to keep the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement alive.

The loss and damage already being experienced by communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis is being cruelly compounded by the impacts of a war and global pandemic.

People who have contributed least to the climate crisis are right now suffering its worst impacts, and decency demands that finance be mobilised urgently through a loss and damage facility to help them.

This year I have been spending time understanding the lived experience of these frontline communities.

Recently, I visited Wajir County, which is about a day’s drive northeast of my home in Nairobi, Kenya.

What I witnessed there was a deeply shocking example of the suffering that the interconnected climate, nature and food crises are bringing to bear right now across the African continent.

Four consecutive failed rainy seasons have led to terrifying levels of food and water insecurity across the region.

I saw with my own eyes the terrible suffering that the community in Wajir is experiencing and the stories that local people had to share will never leave me.

Most people in Wajir depend on livestock for their livelihood, but thousands of their animals are now dropping dead of thirst and starvation.

Young girls are being pulled out of school because their families can no longer afford to pay school fees.

Babies are failing to thrive because their hungry mothers’ can’t produce enough milk to feed them.

Relentless drought has completely decimated local wildlife populations.

And natural ecosystems that should be a life source for all have been pushed beyond breaking point.

What hit me hardest, though, was to hear that some of the people I met feel hopeless about their situation – that only their faith now keeps them going as they pray to God for the rains to arrive.

Most of the people I met in Wajir do not know that decisions made in far away places might have something to do with the situation they are facing.

What would they do if they knew that the actions of others – rich, high-emitting nations in the global north – had something to do with their predicament?

Would they simply pray to God for the rains to come, or would they have something to say to world leaders and big companies who are increasing the likelihood and intensity of these kinds of disasters?

Communities on the frontline of the climate crisis, like the people I met in Wajir, are not responsible for causing the climate crisis – but they are suffering its impacts right now, well beyond what they can adapt to.

The global community must not simply abandon them to their fate.

Which is why it is critical that the COP27 climate change talks, to be held in Egypt later this year, deliver a dedicated finance facility to help frontline communities deal with the loss and damage they are already experiencing – and which we know will only get worse.

This is not just about money – because money can never replace what the people I met in Wajir have already lost.

This is about justice.

It is about building trust and solidarity.

This is what the global community needs if we are to solve the nature and climate crises together.

Yours sincerely

Elizabeth Wathuti

[1] Oxfam analysis shows that there has been an 800% increase in funding required for extreme weather events in the last 20 years, and nearly half of UN appeal requirements have gone unmet. Read the report, Footing the Bill: fair finance for loss and damage in an era of escalating climate impacts.

Oxfam reaction to the He Waka Eke Noa proposal

June 8, 2022

Following the release of the He Waka Eke Noa proposal, Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Campaign Lead Alex Johnston said:

“Under the ‘He Waka Eke Noa’ proposal, it will take 98 years for agribusiness to pay the same emissions price for its pollution that all other Kiwis pay at the petrol pump. It begs the question, are we really all in this together?

“The government’s target to reduce agriculture emissions by 4 percent to 5.5 percent by 2030 is not fair, practical or effective. Agriculture is responsible for half of New Zealand’s emissions, and yet is only going to contribute this small amount to our collective target under the Paris Agreement, which is to reduce emissions by 41 percent by 2030. This proposal doesn’t do what it says on the tin.

“I think about the farmers and fisherfolk on the frontlines of climate change in the Pacific. Those who just want to feed their families, but are struggling to do so due to the impacts of rising sea levels that are destroying their crops. We need our agriculture sector to show what developed economies with historic contributions to climate change can do to reduce emissions and avoid further devastation to farms and livelihoods across the Pacific.”

Oxfam calls for a stronger emissions price to make sure emissions will be reduced in line with the science of keeping to 1.5 degrees. In addition, Oxfam calls for:

Pricing to be set in a way that is designed to achieve the targets in the Zero Carbon Act and agriculture’s share of our Nationally Determined Contribution, not simply raise revenue to pay for technology adoption.
Emissions need to be priced now, not 2025.
The government must scrap the 95 percent discount – the agriculture industry should be paying their fair share.
The government needs to invest in equipping farmers to shift production modes and adjust land use to build a flourishing, regenerative organic food and fibre sector.

Notes:

Regarding the 98-year timeframe: Under ‘He Waka Eke Noa’ farmers won’t start paying an emissions price until the year 2025. There is also a price ceiling proposed by ‘He Waka Eke Noa’ being where the levy rate for each gas is no more than if agriculture entered the Emissions Trading Scheme with legislated 95 percent free allocation in 2025 phasing down by one percentage point per annum. ‘He Waka Eke Noa’ also proposes that the price for methane be frozen for three years of pricing.

2022 Budget Reaction: Big Hearts Connected World

May 20, 2022

“We are disappointed that, once again, this government has not increased its contribution to global efforts to halt the fall of families across the world into extreme poverty,” says Big Hearts organisations Anglican Missions, Christian Blind Mission, Christian World Service, Oxfam Aotearoa, Tearfund, Trade Aid, the Wellington Anglican Diocese, UnionAid and World Vision.

“The hardship we experience is connected. Our response must be this connected, too. As a people, we are generous. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Tongan volcanic eruption and the war in Ukraine, our agencies have experienced the generosity of everyday New Zealanders who want to share what they have with people who are suffering extreme poverty and the loss of their homes.

“When will our government match our people’s generosity?” says Big Hearts organisations.

On top of the climate destruction and the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine has had a ripple effect across the world, where communities across the globe feel the impact of rising food prices. Between April 2020 and December 2021 there was an 80 percent increase in the price of wheat alone, making food out of reach for millions of people.

Big Hearts organisations continue: “In the words of Gabriela Bucher from Oxfam, ‘starvation is a political failure’. It is the result of governments across the world, like here in New Zealand, refusing to help people get the food they need to survive.

“People in Syria have never been so hungry – three in five people in Syria do not know where their next meal will come from. Families in countries like Yemen and Ethiopia exist in famine-like conditions – every day wondering if they will have the very basic fundamental of life – food – watching their children waste away in front of them. One person every 48 seconds is likely dying of hunger seconds in drought-ravaged Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia,” say Big Hearts organisations.

“Now more than ever, we need to pull together as one human family, so that we all make it through the triple crises of a public health pandemic, the global rise in cost of living and climate destruction.

“As a high-income country, Aotearoa New Zealand is able to both support its own people through this hardship, as well as make a small contribution to help people who face starvation and deprivation across the world in low-income countries.”

Notes

There is a significant increase in the international development cooperation budget, but this is all comprised of last year’s welcome climate finance announcement. It is not overseas aid. There is a stated $75 million contingency for Pacific countries, but it appears that this comes from the existing overseas aid budget. Overall, there is no apparent increase in the overseas development assistance budget.

Food prices were already high before the Ukraine crisis with an increase in wheat prices of 80 percent between April 2020 and December 2021. The FAO Food Price Index which tracks the international prices of food items, has risen to a new all-time high, exceeding the previous top of 2011. Additional price hikes and food inflation are likely, with inflation extending to fertilisers and energy.

One person every 48 seconds is likely dying of hunger seconds in drought-ravaged Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, Dangerous delay 2: the cost of inaction | Oxfam International.

Global crises, worsened by the economic turmoil of COVID-19 and more recently by the Ukraine conflict, have pushed food prices to an all-time high in March 2022 – up by 12.6 percent over February – which is putting food ever more out of reach for millions of people. See here.

Oxfam Aotearoa: NDC announcement a betrayal to Pacific Island countries

October 31, 2021

The New Zealand government’s NDC announcement is a betrayal to Pacific Island countries and those on the frontlines of climate change says Oxfam Aotearoa Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier. The Government’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target sets the bar for New Zealand’s contribution to keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees under the Paris Agreement. However, Le Mesurier says that the target is not good enough:

“Let’s be real here, this is not our fair share. The government has changed the way they count our emissions reductions to make them look like they are doing more than they are. This is a government that has said time and again that climate change is our nuclear-free moment. Instead of leading the fight against climate breakdown, they are hiding their inaction by changing the goal posts.

“Our previous target was to reduce emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 on an emissions budget basis. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) recommended that to be consistent with 1.5 degrees, New Zealand’s new target needed to be ‘much more than 36 per cent’ measured on an emissions budget basis, yet it is only 41 per cent,” Le Mesurier said.

Rather than showing the ambition we need, what the government have done today is change the way they measure their emissions from an emissions budget basis to a point year basis. This means they can make it look like they have increased the target by more than they have.

Last year, an Oxfam report found that to meet its fair share, New Zealand’s updated target needed to be between 80–133 per cent emissions reductions below 1990 levels by 2030. Le Mesurier says that the government has had all the science, advice and the tools to get this right, but this time has failed Aotearoa, failed our Pacific whanau and failed as a global citizen:

“We’ve shown that we can play our part in global efforts with a recent four-fold increase in climate finance for countries most vulnerable to climate change. But now we need to get our own house in order. Each Minister in Cabinet needs to take responsibility for that fact that our current plans for domestic action are completely inadequate. New Zealand is not taking the action necessary for the country to do its bit to protect our planet and our people from significant harm.”

Earlier this year the harrowing sixth IPCC report revealed human influence has warmed the planet almost beyond repair, issuing what the UN Secretary General called a “red alert” for humanity that world leaders must urgently act on.

“The New Zealand government has shown us today that they are not committed to limiting the worst effects of climate change for people on the frontlines, nor to keeping a 1.5 degrees future in reach. For that to change, some bold action needs to happen to tackle our industries with the biggest footprint domestically, including the agriculture sector.”

/ENDS

Notes:

New Zealand’s NDC target of 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 on a point year basis equates to 41 per cent on an emissions budget basis. This is a mere 5 per cent beyond the Climate Commission’s absolute bottom line.
The Government’s creative accounting is compounded by the fact that New Zealand continues to measure its net reductions against an inflated baseline by using gross emissions in 2005. On a net-net basis, this target is more like 27-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Oxfam Aotearoa is calling the new NDC target a “scandal” as the vast majority of it is being met by offshore carbon credits – no country in the world is planning to rely on these to the extent that New Zealand is to meet their NDC.
Ardern claims that this new NDC target is New Zealand’s fair share; however, it is not consistent with keeping global heating to 1.5 degrees under the Paris Agreement, let alone our fair share of effort