The NZCTU supports a proactive policy to reduce emissions in Aotearoa New Zealand and to deliver a just transition for workers and communities who may be impacted by emissions reduction and the effects of climate change. We view climate change as both a major challenge and a major opportunity for this country. Ambitious action is needed from the government to ensure New Zealand can meet this challenge and capitalise on the opportunities it provides us in terms of social and economic development.
Our view is that the government needs to significantly raise its ambition in the final ERP2. At a high level, the proposed approach set out in the discussion document relies too heavily on forestry offsets and speculative technological developments to reduce emissions.
We would like to see the government adopt an approach that focuses on reducing emissions at the source and investing at a large scale in supporting New Zealand to transition to a productive, low-emissions economy in which good work is available to all.