In our submission we outline how we believe New Zealand should advance effective and ambitious global action on climate change.
Whilst New Zealand is responsible for just 0.17% of global emissions, as a Pacific nation and a global biodiversity hotspot, it is critical that we continue to call for action.
We can amplify the voices of Pacific Island states calling for accelerated action, including in respect of issues and opportunities at the oceans/climate nexus.
New Zealand should advocate that climate policy, planning and regulation should protect, enhance, and restore nature, and any impacts on nature should be mitigated as much as possible. Highlight that there is more that nature can do to address the climate crisis. And take the position that action to safeguard nature and decarbonisation efforts - including the phase-out of fossil fuels - must happen in parallel, and one cannot take place at the expense of the other.
Climate action and sustainable development are interdependent, and we should emphasise how climate resilient development is possible when this interdependence is protected and leveraged by pursuing them in an integrated way. We also need to continue to recognise and support the leadership, capability and capacity, and rights of Indigenous peoples in the context of climate action.