Resources Minister Shane Jones has announced the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is expected to have its first reading today.
If passed, the legislation will reverse New Zealand’s ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, which was world-leading when implemented in 2018.
Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, CEO of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) New Zealand, says: “This is another shameful example of the Coalition Government dispensing with scientific evidence to kowtow to industry lobbyists.
“There is simply no scientific basis for going out to seek new oil and gas reserves at this point in the climate crisis.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made achieving New Zealand’s climate targets one of his nine official government targets. However, developing new oil and gas fields has repeatedly been found to be inconsistent with limiting global warming to 1.5C.
“The International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agree on this point: if we are to limit global warming to 1.5C, fossil fuels need to stay in the ground,” says Kingdon-Bebb.
The Minister has cited “energy security” as one of the reasons to reverse the ban but there is a wide range of demand and supply-side options still available for the government to explore - all of which stand to offer significant benefits to New Zealand.
These include incentivising the development of small-scale solar power and supporting Kiwis to better insulate their homes.
“The writing is on the wall: fossil fuel development is a sunset industry. No responsible lender will finance fossil fuel exploration.
“The reversal of the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration is not only dumb policy, but it has already begun to actively undermine New Zealand’s standing internationally and in the Pacific.
“What's the point of this policy other than vice-signalling?” says Kingdon-Bebb.