Waikato Climate Action

COP21 agreement is just a start

Waikato Climate Action welcomes the Climate Change agreement reached in the COP21 Paris negotiations but warns against complacency.

Louisa Humphry, spokesperson from Hamilton’s Kiribati community says "We are clapping our hands for this agreement, but it is nowhere near what really should be done. This agreement is just the beginning”.

The island nation of Kiribati is recognised as being one of the world's most vulnerable nations to the effects of Climate Change. “People may look at our place Kiribati and think that we are not that important to them, but what is happening in Kiribati needs to be a warning to you all. New Zealanders cannot think that they are doing enough. For our Pacifica nations this agreement is a little bit too late, but we are happy for the world” says Ms Humphry.

New Zealand’s pledge at the negotiations has been deemed inadequate by Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific analysis produced by four climate research organisations.

“The pledges made by our government in Paris are not going to generate the reduction in greenhouse gases that we need. We need incentives to promote renewable technology and to seize the business opportunities that arise" says Daphne Bell, spokesperson for Waikato Climate Action.

Dr Bill Hare, Chief Executive of Climate Analytics says that New Zealand has played a game of accounting tricks without addressing the growth of its emissions. New Zealand's net greenhouse gas emissions increased 42 percent between 1990 and 2013.

“The COP21 agreement offers us transparency on progress towards emission reductions but no enforcement. New Zealand cannot continue to buy its way out of the problem. We need a robust national policy framework to move to a lower carbon economy.” says Ms Bell.

Waikato Climate Action will be monitoring policy and action and holding the government accountable.
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