Climate crisis of 'insufficient weight' to stop oil and gas search – Government
The Government considered climate change before granting permits to look for oil and gas, but thought it of insufficient weight to decline them, a Crown lawyer said. In a High Court hearing this week, Energy Minister Megan Woods has been defending her decision to grant two fossil fuel permits last year. Students, whose futures will be increasingly affected by extreme weather and sea level rise, sued the minister . Students for Climate Solutions argued the consideration given to climate change was cursory and inadequateThe group is asking the court to rule against the decision to grant the permits. The Government also failed to meet its Treaty obligations, the group claims. READ MORE: * Students sue Government for letting companies search for fossil fuels * New fossil fuels are OK because we have a carbon-cutting plan Government * COP26: James Shaw says climate lawsuit will be 'very interesting' Last June, the Government issued two permits that would allow oil and gas companies to search for fossil fuels reserves in Taranaki, out to 2031. Minister Woods did not make the decision herself, but delegated her authority to Phillippa Fox, a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment general manager. Six months before the permits were announced, the Government declared a climate emergency. Weeks before the decision, global expert body the International Energy Agency concluded that global oil and gas exploration should end immediately if countries are to successfully reach net-zero by 2050 and keep planetary temperatures to 1.5C, which would limit severe heat waves and storms. There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply under a feasible path to achieve 1.5C, the agencys report said. At 1.2C of warming, the world is already experiencing deadly heatwaves and record-breaking storms . Representing the students, counsel Michael Heard argued the Government was legally required to consider how the permits could add to the climate crisis. The Zero Carbon Act advises ministers to consider climate change when making decisions under other laws if they think fit. The Government should have calculated the tonnes of emissions that might be released if oil and gas was found and considered how that might make it harder for the country and the world to meet climate goals, Heard said. Instead, officials told Fox that the country had set a national target for 2050, and was working towards a plan to meet that goal. Officials also noted the 2050 target was for net-zero emissions, rather than zero, indicating some ongoing emissions might be appropriate if there was a method to soak them up. Defence counsel Aedeen Boadita-Cormican argued Fox was not legally obliged to consider climate change. But she did so anyway, and gave it [climate change] insufficient weight to refuse the permits. Heard said the world needed action, not more empty promises. When the rubber hits the road, people turn away and say; Were thinking about it. High Court Justice Francis Cooke asked counsel if the country was on track to meet its climate targets. The defence referred to the Emissions Reduction Plan, published in May. (The country could reach its domestic carbon budgets under current policies , though this could be thwarted if the Tiwai smelter does not close in 2024. The Government will need to buy up to an estimated 102 million tonnes of emissions savings from another country to meet its Paris carbon-cutting pledge.) The law governing fossil fuel extraction references the Treaty of Waitangi. Students for Climate Solutions argued Fox was obliged to consider the impacts of new fossil fuels on Maori. Students for Climate Solutions did not include an iwi representative, though members and witnesses are mana whenua, Heard said. The Treaty guaranteed rights to tangata (people) as well as rangatira and hapu, he added. Before the permits were issued, an exercise considering the impact of fossil fuel extraction specifically on Maori was not done, the court heard. Tangata whenua who hold people and the environment are one will be disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, Heard said. When the Government asked iwi for their views before the permits were issued, Ngaruahine expressed serious concerns about the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuel extraction and asked the Government to take a stand against it. There was no evidence the Government had consulted iwi elsewhere on this issue, Heard argued. Boadita-Cormican maintained the Government met its Treaty responsibilities. The day prior, the defence argued that the oil and gas programme had to be refreshed every 10 years, therefore iwi would soon get a say on the continued search for new fossil fuels. But this provision has been removed from the law, so this information was incorrect, the defence admitted Wednesday. But planned law changes could prompt such consultation, Boadita-Cormican said. As the hearing closed, Heard stressed the high stakes of decisions to issue permits echoing UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, who recently said failure to make tough choices right now was an act of collective suicide . Justice Cooke assured the court he was fully aware of the importance of climate issues, and lived with young, climate-concerned family members. He requested further evidence from counsel and did not issue a judgment before the hearing closed. Our weekly email newsletter, by the Forever Project's Olivia Wannan, rounds up the latest climate developments. Sign up here .