NZ’s ‘War On Nature’ Flouts Terms Of European Trade Deal, Warns WWF

The Government’s rushed programme of environmental
deregulation aimed at driving export growth is putting New
Zealand’s ground-breaking Free Trade Agreement with the
European Union at risk, says the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) New Zealand.

The NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
enters into force on 1st of May and contains a commitment
that neither Party will “weaken or reduce the levels of
protection afforded in its environmental law in order to
encourage trade or investment.”

WWF-New Zealand’s
CEO, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, says the Government’s
unrelenting pursuit of cutting ‘red-tape’ and repealing
environmental laws to spur growth directly contravenes this
binding commitment.

“This Government has shown us
time and time again that its first priority is economic
growth at all costs, whatever it takes – even if that
means trampling all over the few protections in place for
our degraded landscapes or condemning our threatened native
species to extinction,” she says.

“The terms of
New Zealand’s deal with the EU are absolutely clear that
we must not weaken our environmental laws in order to boost
trade, yet this Government is pushing forward shocking cuts
to environmental protections and recklessly pursuing the
expansion of extractive industries like coal mining at the
expense of our native species and habitats – many of which
are already on the brink of extinction.

“Continuing
on this dangerous path means we are failing to meet the
terms negotiated and potentially sabotaging huge export
opportunities for New Zealand’s businesses and primary
producers.”

The centrepiece of the Government’s
systematic war on nature is the Fast-track Approvals Bill,
which overrides critical environmental laws in New Zealand,
places unbridled decision-making power in the hands of three
Ministers, and removes the democratic rights of New
Zealanders to have input into decision-making processes that
affect them, their communities, and our
environment.

While nature in New Zealand is already at
a tipping point, the Government is also rushing through a
raft of other changes that will weaken protections for our
natural environment. This includes suspending the need for
councils to comply with Significant Natural Area rules,
which have been in place since the creation of the Resource
Management Act 1991; unwinding safeguards for freshwater;
and failing to back-up their commitment to meet our climate
targets with any meaningful investment or policy
improvements.

WWF says the combination of these
policies and the Government’s overarching agenda of
removing environmental protections to drive export-led
economic growth constitute a breach of the FTA.

The
NZ-EU FTA also establishes a sanctionable commitment for
both parties to “effectively implement” their 2030
climate targets under the Paris Agreement.

WWF argues
that the Government’s ‘slash and burn’ approach to
climate policy could undermine this.

“The Prime
Minister has said that he is committed to meeting our
international climate change targets, but we’ve seen no
clear pathway to doing so, and a host of backwards policies
like encouraging new coal mines and repealing the ban on
offshore oil and gas exploration,” says Dr
Kingdon-Bebb.

“In the middle of the climate crisis,
our Government has slashed public transport initiatives and
incentives for electric vehicles, delayed pricing
agricultural emissions, pledged to reopen the door to
offshore oil and gas exploration, and is now expanding coal
mining. These absurd decisions are completely out of touch
with what’s needed to address the climate emergency we
face.”

Dr Kingdon-Bebb says the Government is
rushing through its programme of environmental destruction
with little thought to the international
ramifications.

“Christopher Luxon has bemoaned red
and green tape and called New Zealand an ‘obstruction
economy’. But by backsliding on our environmental and
climate policies, he’s the one who is actually obstructing
our country’s growth.

“Brussels sees this deal
with Aotearoa New Zealand as one that sets a gold standard
for sustainability requirements in its other trade deals –
such as the negotiations underway with Australia – and it
will be paying close attention to whether we live up to our
commitments,” she says.

“I suspect Simon Watts,
our Climate Minister, heard as much from the European Union
Commissioner at Climate COP28 back in December.

“But
Europe isn’t the only market demanding strong
environmental standards and climate action. New Zealand’s
war on nature is quickly putting us out of step with the
rest of the world and with the demands of our international
consumers. Our primary producers who are at the leading edge
of sustainable production are all too aware of
this.

“I can only hope our political leaders wake up
soon to the international ramifications of their
ill-conceived and environmentally disastrous set of
policies.”

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