Source: Greenpeace
Today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, released its ‘synthesis report’, summarising six previous reports.
Greenpeace says that the latest report confirms the industrial drivers of climate change, its dire planetary impacts, and the urgent need for transformative action.
“Everyone deserves a flourishing environment, with a safe and stable climate. But climate change driven by industrial pollution is putting all we know and love at risk,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa climate campaigner Christine Rose.
“This summer, we’ve had a brutal reminder of what climate change has in store, with devastating storms, cyclones, floods and drought, all made worse by climate change.
“At this year’s election, voters will be looking for leadership in the face of the climate crisis. To be credible, the Government must bring the dairy industry fully into the Emissions Trading Scheme, phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and halve the dairy herd,” says Rose.
The IPCC report says, methane emissions are one of the key drivers of climate change, and since 2019 they have continued to rise. Agriculture is responsible for half of New Zealand’s climate emissions, much of it methane from cow burps and nitrous oxide from excrement and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Fonterra and the dairy industry is New Zealand’s biggest polluter.
Methane and nitrous oxide are known as “superheaters” and scientists say that tackling these now will be our best chance of keeping climate impacts to a minimum.
“The IPCC report shows this is a crucial moment, and despite the Prime Minister’s recent climate policy bonfire, Chris Hipkins can still put himself and New Zealand on the right side of history by addressing the country’s largest climate polluters in upcoming decisions on agricultural emissions,” says Rose. “He Waka Eke Noa is not worth the paper it’s written on and has to go in the bin.”
On Wednesday this week two activists will appear in court following a Greenpeace action outside Fonterra where the dairy giant’s corporate HQ was made to look like a flood zone.
“We took action last week because Fonterra is New Zealand’s worst climate polluter, but the dairy industry is largely unregulated as it sits outside the Emissions Trading Scheme which is the Government’s central tool for managing climate pollution,” says Rose.
“New Zealand is one of the few countries where emissions have continued to rise and the IPCC report shows that every fraction of extra heating will make matters worse.
“By transforming New Zealand’s farming to a climate friendly ecological model, agriculture can be a force for good, cooling the climate, restoring rivers and biodiversity, and giving people sustainable, healthy kai.”
