Kia ora tātou,

Hope everyone is well and warm. The few frosty mornings in Taranaki are so beautiful, take time to appreciate them.

Our group is growing, with members taking up different areas of work according to their interest and expertise, from engaging with youth on seabed mining to attending relevant conferences, contributing to regional water plans, working with other groups across Aotearoa to stop fast-track approvals, exploring community energy initiatives, and more.  If you are keen to join us or have specific interest, do let us know.

Youth engagement

On July 20^th, our member Alana Kane shared some kōrero on behalf of CJT with Forest and Bird Youth leaders at Ohawe Marae. The rangatahi were excited to learn about Seabed Mining and what they could do about it. Karen Pratt from Project Reef also shared the mahi on the project and her learning about the negative impacts of Seabed mining and ways young people can take a stand. Alana shared tools and ideas about how to organise as youth, some of the challenges that youth might face, and awhi to keep going! It was a great day, and we are excited to have rangatahi on board the kaupapa. Kia kaha to our youth who seek climate justice!

Mooving on Methane and taking Agricultural emissions out of the ETS

Two members attended the Mooving on Methane conference organised by Venture Taranaki at the end of May. They were frustrated by the push for techno-fixes when it was clear from many speakers that none of the technologies is ready or applicable for NZ farms. The post-conference report is now on Venture Taranaki website is you are interested.

The fact is that the agricultural industry is responsible for half or more of NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions. It should pay for the costs, substantially reduce its emissions and transform to systems that support NZ’s food security, community wellbeing, resilience and biodiversity restoration. Progressive farmers are already doing these, working with nature rather than against it and becoming the solution rather than problem. Government’s regulatory framework ought to incentivise such change rather than going backwards and emboldening business as usual  We are thus strongly opposed to the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme Agricultural Amendment) Bill. Read our submission here.

Taranaki Land and Freshwater Plan

Two members attended Taranaki Regional Council’s workshop for Community Advocacy Freshwater Special Interest Group to discuss issues around targets and limits on water allocation, E. coli, nutrients and sediment which affect the health of our waterways. The discussions were expected to help inform the formulation of the new Taranaki Land and Freshwater Plan. At the workshop, our members emphasized the importance of ensuring groundwater integrity and setting a high bar to protect freshwater species. Read our submission here.

MBIE Proposed minerals strategy to 2040 Info & Submission Blitz

We had some really informative and stimulating discussions on mineral mining, from coal to gold and so-called ‘critical minerals’ at our webinar. Thank you so much to our panelists and speakers: Augusta Maccassey-Pickard (Communities Against the Fast Track / CAFT); Cindy Baxter (Kiwis Against Seabed Mining / KASM and Coal Action Network Aotearoa / CANA); Catherine Delahunty (Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki); Sarah Lucas (Forest and Bird); our facilitator Barbara Hamonds and every participants who contributed to our discussions. The kōrero informed our submission hugely.

If you missed it, here is the recording. Passcode: 40^+N2Hu
Do skip the 13 minutes of breakout room session from 16:09-29:06. Apology for that.

Fast Track Approvals Bill and Projects – Lobby your MPs

The Community Against Fast Track (CAFT), of which CJT is a member, continues to meet weekly to discuss strategies and ways to stop the Bill and the projects that could follow if the Bill is passed into law. Notably, seabed mining applications off the Taranaki coast and on the Chatham Rise have been through the courts for most of the past decade and failed. If they are granted fast-tracked approvals, it will be a travesty of natural justice with decades of harm environmentally and socio-economically. KASM is encouraging everyone to talk or write to Christopher Luxon and Coalition MPs, especially those who are on the Environment Select Committee, to let them know that you do not support the Fast Track Approvals Bill, especially fast-tracking seabed and other forms of mining. Tips and contact details are here.  Check out CAFT website on more action that you can take.

Submissions

Proposed regulatory regime for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS)

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is pushing for CCUS. It is seeking feedback on how CCUS should be treated under the Emissions Trading Scheme, and issues around consenting, monitoring, liability and ways to enable more CO2 utilisation. CJT argues that CCUS is a dangerous distraction and delay tactic to continue fossil fuel reliant in the midst of global heating and climate chaos. Lessons from Australia and elsewhere showed that CCUS projects are expensive and most of them fail or under-deliver on their targets. The objectives of the MBIE proposal: 1) Efficient emissions abatement, 2) Environmental integrity, and 3) Energy security, are fatally flawed and wholly inappropriate in NZ. Therefore, there is no need for the proposed regulatory regime for CCUS.

Details on MBIE website. Do send in a submission with your concerns by Tue 6 August. Here is our submission.

New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan

The discussion document sets out how emissions pricing, and the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in particular, will play a central role in our climate change response. The document also outlines seven key policies:

• Reducing consenting barriers for renewable energy generation;
• 10,000 public EV chargers by 2030;
• Giving farmers tools to reduce emissions;
• Investing in resource recovery;
• Improving organic waste and landfill gas capture;
• Improving public transport; and
• Investigating CCUS.

Details on MfE website. Submission closes on Wed 21 August.

Events

Palestinian Solidarity Taranaki rally, every Sat

The weekly rallies and protests in support of a free Palestine continue to carry the message for peaceful solution, humanitarian aid and immediate ceasefire through the streets of New Plymouth. Watch this to understand how Palestine solidarity is connected to the climate justice movement: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2024/3/5/how-is-palestine-connected-to-the-climate-justice-movement  Gather at Puke Ariki Landing every Saturday at 1pm. More on PSNA Taranaki fb page.

Community Energy Taranaki hui, monthly

The Community Energy action group formed during our May 11th Climate Action Now gathering plans to meet either in the last week of August or first week of September. Get in touch if you’re interested to attend or advise aspects of this initiative.

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Thanks heaps for your ongoing support. We really appreciate it. 

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui!