Rod Carr accuses fossil-fuel promoters of ‘crime against humanity’
Thursday, 5 December 2024
Climate change commissioner Rod Carr says those who continue to promote the combustion of fossil fuels in the open air without permanent carbon capture and storage are in his view “committing a crime against humanity”.
Carr made the comment in what may be his final public appearance in the role, wrapping up evidence to Parliament’s Environment select committee on Thursday.
Addressing a parting question from Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, Carr said we have “past the stage where any of our leaders can afford not to know and understand that human activity is changing the climate”.
“But the science is telling us that it is changing more rapidly than we thought.”
Justifying the accusation of a crime against humanity to The Post, Carr said “we have to call bad actors out”.
The activity he was describing was “known to be the principal cause of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the primary driver of climate change”, he said.
“If we don’t address that issue, it’s because we choose not to.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Climate Change Commission recommended toughening-up the country’s 2050 emissions reduction targets to reflect evidence that the world was not on track to keep industrial-era global warming to 1.5 degrees.
It also recommended the Government include international aviation and shipping emissions in its target.
The goal should be reaching a “net negative” 20 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2050, including from international aviation and shipping, so by then the country would be taking more carbon out of the atmosphere than it was adding, it said.
The commission’s advice, released by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, said climate impacts were more severe and happening sooner than expected and “other countries are already doing and expecting more”.
“Our analysis shows the country has options available to not only get on track to the current target, but to increase Aotearoa New Zealand’s contribution to global efforts to limit average warming to 1.5°C,” Carr said.
But that would mean reducing both carbon and methane emissions faster than anticipated, he said.
The commission’s final recommendation was the “methane target floor” be raised from a 24% reduction from 2017 levels to a 35% reduction, he said.
The Government is obligated to respond to the advice by the end of next year.
Carr separately said earlier this week that excuses were running out for the Treasury failing to include in its fiscal forecasts the $2.5 billion-plus cost of buying about 100 million tonnes of overseas carbon offsets.
It was now clear at least that amount would need to be spent to meet the country’s Paris Agreement pledge to reduce 2030 net emissions to 50% of its 2005 gross emissions by 2030, he said.
Trade Minister Todd McClay was reported by RNZ as subsequently rejecting the prospect of New Zealand spending billions on overseas credits.
But Carr suggested to The Post that could only be a matter of semantics.
“You may not be buying credits in an open market. You may be doing deals bilaterally with other countries, so there are many ways to meet our commitments that don't require you to go into a public market to buy credits. I'm sure he had that in mind.”
The commission has newly recommended setting an emissions cap of 160 million tonnes of carbon dioxide during the so-called fourth emissions budget period between 2036 and 2040.
That would involve more than halving annual emissions, by then, from their 2022 level.
“There’s a lot happening, both domestically and internationally that means many people may ask ‘why should we do more?’,” Carr acknowledged.
“Change is coming. The question is how much the country chooses to steer this change,” he said.
“Delaying action will make the transition more expensive and more difficult for some sectors and communities. It also risks Aotearoa New Zealand falling behind other countries.”
The Government is tipped to announce as early as Friday who will succeed Carr in the role.