The Kiwis in Climate pre-election panel
How did political candidates measure up against the KiC Call for a climate policy focus this election? Re-watch the panel and read a breakdown of the event.
The KiC pre-election panel webinar – one of only a handful this election to focus on climate change, or even mention it – highlighted several areas of cross-party agreement alongside points of contention.
All parties acknowledged climate change’s negative impact on Aotearoa and agreed on the potential to diversify our ‘home-grown’ energy sector through renewables and electrification. Panellists challenged each other on the role of government policy, phasing out fossil fuels, and cross-party working groups.
Kiwis in Climate is encouraged by the overlap in the parties’ commitments and calls on politicians of all parties to agree to a cross-party climate working group, commit to keep the emissions targets through a change of government. This will allow Aotearoa to achieve our collective ambition without delay or direction switches.
All parties agree on shifting to homegrown renewable energy, and on building resilience ahead of climate-related events. For instance, all panellists stated their support integrating climate resilience into infrastructure decisions.
However, approaches differ widely. Proposals as simple as an electrification strategy, a regular climate scientist briefing to government, or a cross-party climate group, were not palatable to all panellists.
Panellists brought up concerns about the impact of climate change and climate action on industry and individuals - but they disagree on what that means for government policy.
The 'yeah-nah' round
Panellists were asked to hold up a thumbs-up or thumbs-down symbol in response to some key questions. This table shows the literal visual results of that round – but the symbols are not a value judgement or any sort of comprehensive assessment on the actual actions of the political parties in these areas.
“This panel showed political consensus around New Zealand building more climate resilience and a secure energy supply, but cut-through with investment and where to prioritise emissions reduction remains under debate”
Tessa Vincent, panel moderator and Kiwis in Climate convenor
Watch a 5-minute highlight reel, or the full hour
Watch the full pre-election panel kōrero here, or listen to it podcast-style on Spotify and PodBean. Plus keep an eye out on our Instagram next week, for edited top moments
The KiC Call is a set of three climate commitments
we're calling for the next government to focus on:
Find out more and read the full KiC Call here
So where did our panelists stand on a climate policy focus?
"Bottom line, a National-led Government will remain and is committed to the Paris Agreement. We are committed and will retain the Climate Change Commission as independent advice."
Hon. Simon Watts, National Party
"Resilience isn’t just about building more, it’s about building in the right places. We may disagree on emissions targets and subsidies, but we should all agree on better hazard information, stronger infrastructure, and fewer investment barriers."
Simon Court, ACT Party
"Unfortunately, on climate, preserving the status quo is where we are at, because it is under threat. It’s absurd that we think we can get somewhere without a clear plan on energy transition"
Qiulae Wong, Opportunity
"There's a particular issue around the use of forestry in the emissions trading scheme, and the role for exotic forestry there. We need to do something about that to ensure that we don't just reduce net emissions, but we actually reduce gross emissions"
Hon. Dr Deborah Russell, Labour Party
"More hydro, geothermal, solar and wind, backed by reliable gas, will remove barriers to investment, barriers to better electricity connections, and competition, to give consumers more choice."
Andy Foster, NZ First
"I think that building on the Climate Change Commission and actually giving them real teeth to, for example, set budgets as opposed to just advise, would be a really important step forward."
Chlöe Swarbrick, Green Party
Thank you to all the candidates for attending the panel event, and sharing in our collective vision for actions that will be impactful and actionable over the next parliamentary term. Keep an eye out on this page and the KiC Blog for op-eds and further analysis of the panel event.
This election will determine whether we make real efforts to tackle the climate and cost of living. Let's make it count.
"It was so cool to see climate representatives from across the spectrum get into what they agree on, debate the details, and share some banter"
Billy Rine, Kiwis in Climate convenor
