SNAPSHOT: FOOD FOR THOUGHT OR ARE WE BONKERS?
BY NEAL CATLEY
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and reflect personal opinions and perspectives. They are not intended to represent or influence official government policy, nor should they be interpreted as a call for policy change.
It is an undeniable fact that Greenhouse gas emissions [CO2] do not respect national borders. Additionally, it is well-documented that emissions from major coal-fired power stations in China, India, Indonesia, and the United States contribute to the total emissions generated to global warming, which affects all countries through sea-level rise, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and impacts on agriculture and human health. The Green Party Leadership represents New Zealand at the annual Paris Agreement conferences, which is a collaborative effort by most nations to address climate change and mitigate its impact by reducing CO2 emissions. It is an admirable goal. New Zealand is one of the world’s best countries, with effective and practical solutions to mitigate CO2 emissions. The likelihood, however, of the major actors, such as China [1,161], India [285], the USA [204], and Indonesia [80], reducing their coal-fired power stations anytime soon is akin to ‘farting into thunder!’ Why? Despite all the coal-fired nations signing the 2024 Paris Agreement to reduce their CO2 emissions, China, India, Indonesia, and the USA plan to continue building new coal-power stations throughout 2025 and beyond. With President Trump now in charge of the ‘USS America’ wheelhouse, nothing should be considered off the table!
New Zealand has one coal-fired power station at Huntly, scheduled to stop using coal by 2030. Currently, it uses its coal-fired power as a backup source during periods when renewable energy sources are deficient.
In 2021, under the Paris Agreement, the New Zealand government committed $800 million over four years, or $200 million each year in international development funding to deliver on New Zealand’s climate finance target. I understand that the 2025 budget has now allocated $100 million each year for developing the Pacific islands’ climate change targets, replacing the previous allocation of $200 million. As New Zealand has allocated approximately 60% of its International Development Cooperation funds – around $1.746 billion from 2024 to 2027 to the Pacific Islands region, there should be no need to further allocate $100 million each year for the Pacific Islands’ climate change initiatives.
In sum, it is difficult to understand why New Zealand, which produces 0.014 percent of Greenhouse gases/CO2, pays hundreds of millions of dollars to the International Climate Change Development Fund when major actors like China, India, Indonesia, and the USA [who recently withdrew from the Paris agreement] continue to build new coal-fired power stations and are nonchalant about defaulting on their Billion-dollar payments. It seems futile for small countries like New Zealand, which produce a minuscule amount of Greenhouse gases/CO2, to continue allocating significant resources/gazillions under the Paris Agreement to reduce worldwide Greenhouse/CO2 emissions.