Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling on the Labour Party to up their game on climate change, after the Party’s campaign slogan launch and the leader’s speech were noticeably silent on the climate crisis.

Greenpeace Aotearoa lead climate campaigner, Christine Rose, says "Chris Hipkins’ campaign slogan may be ‘in it for you’, but so far the Labour Party has not addressed the primary drivers of climate pollution here in Aotearoa -industrial dairy, energy, and transport. Until it does, Hipkins is clearly not in this for the people across Aotearoa who saw homes and livelihoods devastated by climate disasters like Cyclone Gabrielle, or for those who will face much worse in the future.

"The Labour Government listened to the people of Aotearoa in 2018, when it banned new oil and gas exploration in Aotearoa’s waters - a battle that New Zealanders had been fighting for years. But Labour can’t stop there. They still have much work left to do to address the climate crisis.

"Labour must phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, which is used to drive intensive dairying and sustain cow numbers that are far beyond the natural limits of the land. This causes superheating methane and nitrous oxide emissions which pollute the climate. Any party that is serious about climate change must commit to phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser now," says Rose.

Greenpeace, alongside more than forty other organisations, is calling on all political parties to adopt ten key actions for a safe and stable climate and healthy environment. These are outlined in a plan known as Climate Shift. More than 11,000 New Zealanders have signed on in support of the plan since it launched in June.

"This year’s election will be a test of how serious political parties really are about what is fast becoming an existential threat for New Zealanders," says Rose. "October 14th will be a climate election, and Hipkins will have to remember that there are no votes on a dead planet."

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