Zero Carbon Bill

Take Action  

Download SAFE’s submission guide and write your submission to the Environment Committee. Submissions close 5pm, Tuesday July 16.  

Pushed for Time? 

If you’re after a quick five-minute action, use SAFE’s submission template and copy and paste it into the form on Parliament’s Website.

What does it mean? What can you do? 

We value our land and we value our future. As animal lovers, we understand how climate change is affecting and will affect human and non-human animals. Our Government is consulting on ground-breaking legislation that will set the path for climate action over the next thirty years.  

Currently, animal agriculture causes the majority of New Zealand greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane). This proposed law is a fantastic opportunity for us as a country to redevelop and redefine our sustainable future. The most effective way to reduce our emissions is to set a target of net zero for all greenhouse gases and support landowners to transition towards plant-based agriculture.   

Last year, the Government consulted across New Zealand to ask what will be in the Zero Carbon Bill. In May 2019, the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill was introduced to the House. It is now in the Select Committee process – where a group of MPs scrutinise the Bill and invite the public to submit. Now is our time to act.   

The Bill proposes a lot of law changes to be excited about. When this Bill becomes law, it will:   

• embed our Paris Climate Agreement commitments in law. 
• create an independent Climate Change Commission to advise the Government. 
• require New Zealand to adapt to climate change and reduce carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide to net zero. 

But our planet needs the Bill to go further. There is still time to make changes and strengthen the strong foundation created by the first draft of the Bill.  

The vast majority of individual submitters in 2018 said they wanted the Bill to have a 2050 target of achieving net zero across all greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Bill in its current form only requires a methane reduction of 24 – 47% (with the exact reduction to be decided by the new Commission). This leaves a lot of uncertainty. The climate emergency requires us to be bold and demand certainty. We should commit to reducing all emissions to net zero.   

We know that Beef + Lamb and Fonterra are encouraging farmers to submit on the Bill to weaken it, for example they are proposing a dangerous lower methane emissions target.   

The more people who take the time to write personal submissions to the committee, the more likely it is the committee will be motivated to recommend bold changes to the Bill.  

The future is counting on you!  

Send Your Submission 

Whether you wrote your own, or are using SAFE’s pre-written version, submit on the Parliament Website before 5pm Tuesday 16 July.