Submission on the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill

OraTaiao strongly opposes the amendment bill and urges that it is not progressed. The bill prioritises short-term economic gains over the essential need to reduce our fossil fuel dependence. A fairer, faster and more cost-effective energy transition is possible without the use of new oil and gas. Exploration for new fossil fuels and approving development of new oil and gas fields and mines is incompatible with domestic and international requirements to limit warming below the 1.5°C limit. This will cause significant reputational harm for Aotearoa, as we will be seen as ignoring the science, contradicting our own decarbonization efforts, turning our back on our Pacific neighbors, international agreements and obligations, and making it even more difficult to ensure a climate-safe future for generations to come.

There are significant public health opportunities to be gained through transitioning away from fossil fuels. We must prioritise getting gas out of the homes, schools, and hospitals that cater to some of those most vulnerable in our communities. The quickest, cheapest and most healthy route to energy security and resilience is by investing in distributed renewable energy sources. We need policies which reduce overall energy and resource consumption in a just and equitable manner. We call on the government to redirect investment from extractive to regenerative industries which support human and planetary health and social and ecological wellbeing. 

OraTaiao's full submission to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, prepared by Dermot Coffey, is available here.

August - September 2024 Newsletter Pānui

Stop Pharmac funding genocide and apartheid 

MEDIA RELEASE, 4 September 2024

Aotearoa Healthcare Workers for Palestine, OraTaiao Aotearoa NZ Climate and Health Council, and Te Kāhui Manukura o Kai Ora (NZ Māori Dietitians Association) together call for Pharmac to stop buying New Zealand’s medicines from Israeli-based company Teva and choose other suppliers.

Their submissions to Pharmac highlight how Teva, an Israeli global pharmaceutical company, is involved and profiting from Israel’s system of apartheid in the Palestinian Occupied Territories (OPT; encompasses Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem).

Submission on New Zealand’s second Emissions Reduction Plan

Unfortunately, the small reductions that have started and the hope for accelerating these are mostly stalled or reversed by a barrage of climate-hostile policy changes. The draft second Emissions Reduction Plan is inadequate to achieve the domestic 2050 emissions targets. We are already way off track to meet our third emissions budget, our 2050 net zero target, or our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and we can’t see how the 2026-2030 plan will turn the ship around. Our inaction will make things even worse. The government's net-based approach wastes the unprecedented opportunity for health gains and health sector savings by prioritising direct gross emissions cuts with health co-benefits. To a tired and stretched health sector workforce, this is indefensible. Furthermore, fully resourcing all Māori and iwi-led emissions reduction plans and priorities is long overdue. Aotearoa’s climate action must enable an equitable transition, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Mātauranga Māori. 

OraTaiao's full submission to The Ministry for the Environment, prepared by Liz Springford, Scott Metcalfe, and Dermot Coffey, is available here.

Submission on the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill

OraTaiao strongly opposes the amendment bill and urges that it is not progressed. The bill prioritises short-term economic gains over the essential need to reduce our fossil fuel dependence. A fairer, faster and more cost-effective energy transition is possible without the use of new oil and gas. Exploration for new fossil fuels and approving development of new oil and gas fields and mines is incompatible with domestic and international requirements to limit warming below the 1.5°C limit. This will cause significant reputational harm for Aotearoa, as we will be seen as ignoring the science, contradicting our own decarbonization efforts, turning our back on our Pacific neighbors, international agreements and obligations, and making it even more difficult to ensure a climate-safe future for generations to come.

There are significant public health opportunities to be gained through transitioning away from fossil fuels. We must prioritise getting gas out of the homes, schools, and hospitals that cater to some of those most vulnerable in our communities. The quickest, cheapest and most healthy route to energy security and resilience is by investing in distributed renewable energy sources. We need policies which reduce overall energy and resource consumption in a just and equitable manner. We call on the government to redirect investment from extractive to regenerative industries which support human and planetary health and social and ecological wellbeing. 

OraTaiao's full submission to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, prepared by Dermot Coffey, is available here.

Submission on New Zealand’s second Emissions Reduction Plan

Unfortunately, the small reductions that have started and the hope for accelerating these are mostly stalled or reversed by a barrage of climate-hostile policy changes. The draft second Emissions Reduction Plan is inadequate to achieve the domestic 2050 emissions targets. We are already way off track to meet our third emissions budget, our 2050 net zero target, or our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and we can’t see how the 2026-2030 plan will turn the ship around. Our inaction will make things even worse. The government's net-based approach wastes the unprecedented opportunity for health gains and health sector savings by prioritising direct gross emissions cuts with health co-benefits. To a tired and stretched health sector workforce, this is indefensible. Furthermore, fully resourcing all Māori and iwi-led emissions reduction plans and priorities is long overdue. Aotearoa’s climate action must enable an equitable transition, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Mātauranga Māori. 

OraTaiao's full submission to The Ministry for the Environment, prepared by Liz Springford, Scott Metcalfe, and Dermot Coffey, is available here.

Submission on the proposed regulatory regime for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS)

Meaningful emissions reductions come from, well… reducing emissions. Not trying to catch them with closed fists. OraTaiao is concerned that carbon capture, utilisation, and storage schemes are a distraction from meaningful climate action. These schemes pose significant threats to our climate goals, and to health equity. The proposal will fail to abate emissions, will not ensure environmental integrity, and is not appropriate for the Aotearoa NZ context. Using CCUS as a greenlight for proceeding with oil and gas exploration is not only a significant financial and technical risk, it will increase climate damage and harm to human and ecosystem health. Each stage of the CCUS process poses major public health risks; also not present in MBIE risk assessments. We urge MBIE not to incentivise carbon capture schemes, and to reprioritise climate health and health equity.

OraTaiao's full submission to the The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, prepared by Summer Wright, is available here.

Submission on the inquiry into climate adaptation

We take issue with the narrow lens the Climate Adaptation Framework is taking, namely the focus on weather-related concerns. Furthermore, health and well-being is often given little (if any) consideration when designing solutions for climate adaptation other than in the protection of health service facilities. This is a significant oversight due to each climate risk having health and well-being implications as part of the cascading risk profile. We highlight that the wider health sector has recently created climate change scenarios in line with XRB Climate Standards. The best way to minimise the long-term costs relating to adapting to the physical risks of climate change is to continue rapid and significant investment in climate change mitigation.

OraTaiao's full submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee, prepared by Dr. Dermot Coffey and Vicktoria Blake, is available here.

Designing a healthy response to climate change

Article by Dr Dermot Coffey. NZMJ Digest Issue 99. Read here (PDF).

Nurses are crucial in the fight against climate change

Viewpoint by Michael Brenndorfer. Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, Vol 26, No 9, October 2020. Read here (PDF).

New Zealand asthma guidelines support use of environmentally friendly inhalers

Article by Dr Dermot Coffey. New Zealand Doctor, 7 October 2020. Read here. 

Scorecard for NZ Election 2020 - Climate Change and Health

Scorecard and report by OraTaiao: NZ Climate & Health Council rating political parties' policies on climate change and health for NZ General Election 2020. See here (PDF).