Greenpeace Aotearoa says the world's highest court has just delivered a wake-up call for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
In a historic climate ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has confirmed that governments have legal obligations to protect people – both now and in the future – from the worsening impacts of the climate crisis. That includes regulating big polluters like fossil fuel companies and intensive livestock operations.
“This is a warning shot to Luxon that his Government’s war on nature and the climate comes with consequences,” says Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson.
“The Court has made it clear: states must take action to prevent climate harm, no matter where it occurs. They must uphold people’s fundamental right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – for today’s communities and future generations.”
The ICJ ruling goes beyond the Paris Agreement, reinforcing that governments have a duty to regulate climate pollution, cooperate internationally, and prevent environmental harm. It strengthens the legal grounds for climate-impacted communities to hold governments accountable.
Since taking office, the Luxon Government has scrapped or weakened numerous key climate policies. It has:
Overturned the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration
Pledged to fast-track coal mining
Shelved agricultural emissions pricing
Exempted the country’s worst climate polluter – intensive dairying – from meaningful accountability
“Luxon is elevating the profits of polluters above people’s fundamental human rights,” says Larsson. “This ruling puts him – and governments like his – on notice.”
The dairy industry, led by Fonterra, is New Zealand’s largest climate polluter. Yet under pressure from lobby groups, the Government has rolled back environmental safeguards and is now considering weakening methane targets – despite clear advice from the Climate Change Commission that action on methane must be strengthened.
Earlier this year, Luxon received a letter authored by dozens of international climate scientists accusing him of ignoring scientific evidence on methane and urging him to follow the Climate Commission’s advice to strengthen New Zealand’s methane target. The letter was featured on the front page of the Financial Times.
“New Zealand is the world’s largest dairy exporter and a major player in the global livestock industry,” says Larsson.
“How New Zealand addresses livestock emissions sets an important precedent for the rest of the world. If Luxon guts the methane target, New Zealand risks breaching the Paris Agreement and, by extension, its trade agreements with partners like the UK and EU.”
The historic ICJ ruling is a result of action taken in 2019 by 27 law students from The University of the South Pacific. As thePacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change,they campaigned for the ICJ to issue an Advisory Opinion on the responsibilities of States in respect to climate change. Theresolution, put forward by Vanuatu alongside a global alliance of States, passed the United Nations General Assembly unanimously in March 2023, co-sponsored by over 130 countries.
“As this ruling shows, the courts are becoming an increasingly important venue for climate justice – because governments like ours are failing to protect people and the planet. And when that happens, people will step up to defend their future.”
Gruesome smoking warnings and frightening obesity statistics use fear to drive behaviour change. But a University of Auckland researcher says it might be time to try a different approach.
Marketing lecturer Dr Saira Raza Khan, whose work focuses on consumer well-being and meaningful consumption, says gratitude can be more effective than fear when it comes to promoting healthier choices.
“I don’t think fear in advertising is beneficial for people’s mental health and well-being,” says Khan. “We’re already going through negative emotions in relation to other elements of our lives – the news, work stress, etc. Why not use emotions in health advertising that promote well-being?”
Her article, published in the Journal of Advertising Research, examines how different emotional appeals (fear and gratitude) influence people’s responses to diet-related messages.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that governments must phase out fossil fuels, rapidly reduce emissions, provide remedy to those facing climate damages, and provide climate finance to developing countries.
Oxfam climate change policy lead Nafkote Dabi said:
“Oxfam is proud to have supported young climate defenders from the Pacific and elsewhere who bravely took their fight for justice from a classroom in Vanuatu to the world’s highest court. They won the world a tremendous victory today.
This ruling elevates national climate commitments everywhere by confirming that countries must reduce emissions enough to protect the universal rights to life, food, health and a clean environment. All countries, particularly rich ones, now have to cut their emissions faster and phase out fossil fuels. Rich countries have to increase their financing to Global South countries to help them reduce emissions and protect their people from past and future harm. This is not a wish-list – it is international law.
We now have a powerful tool for holding countries to account for their obligations, especially in protecting the world’s most marginalised people and future generations of humanity. The ICJ rejected arguments by the likes of the US and UK that governments are bound only by climate treaties such as the Paris Agreement and did not have stronger obligations under international law. This ruling will inject new impetus into negotiations at the COP30 Summit in Brazil this November.”
Oxfam Aotearoa climate justice lead Nick Henry said:
“Today’s ruling is a stunning rebuke to the rich countries, including New Zealand, who are failing to stop harm to our climate. It is a victory for a people-powered campaign started by Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, gaining support from Pacific leaders and allies around the world.
The New Zealand government provided early support to the campaign and co-sponsored the UN resolution that referred the case to the ICJ. But in its submissions to the court, New Zealand argued that human rights law is not relevant to climate change and that governments don’t have climate obligations beyond the existing Paris Agreement.
The world’s highest court has rejected the New Zealand government’s arguments and ruled that the international treaties on human rights and the environment create binding obligations to prevent harm to the climate.
This means that New Zealand must do more to reduce emissions and increase funding for climate action in the Pacific.”
Notes:
Oxfam has been supporting the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change’s lawsuit since 2022, joining in advocacy for the UN General Assembly to refer the case to the Court. Oxfam provided awritten statementto the ICJ in March 2024 on human rights obligations beyond borders and what this means for climate action. Oxfam also contributed to an expert legal opinion that was referenced in several State submissions, theMaastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations.
The historic climate change ruling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today is a landmark win for child campaigners, acknowledging the adverse impacts of climate change on child rights, and offering children renewed hope, Save the Children said.
The Advisory Opinion delivered by the world’s highest court finds that states’ legal obligations to address climate change extend beyond existing climate agreements. It also found that “states must take their obligations under international human rights law into account when implementing their obligations under the climate change treaties and other relevant environmental treaties.”
While not legally binding, leading environmental lawyerssaythe ruling “could become a guiding star for climate policies at all levels of governance”, including how States are held accountable under multiple areas of international law.
The Advisory Opinion originated from an extensive campaign led by a group of law students from the Pacific Islands, with strong support from the Republic of Vanuatu [1].
In December last year, Vepaiamele, 16, a child campaigner with Save the Children Vanuatu, travelled to The Hague with the Government of Vanuatu – the only child to attend as part of a government delegation – to speak about the impacts of climate change on the Pacific island nation and call for action.
Vepaiamele said today: “This Advisory Opinion is everything I hoped for and I am so happy with this outcome as I know it will pave the way for a safer future for youth like myself and future generations, too.”
Speaking from The Haguelast year, Vepaiamele said:
“As a young Ni-Vanuatu girl, I feel the effects of climate change every day of every year. I've experienced many cyclones. It can be kind of terrifying sometimes, especially the really strong ones. Every cyclone, our classrooms are destroyed, our homes are flattened to the ground, and hospitals and communication towers are ripped apart. And then there's also the mental health impacts, and we don't really talk about it that much, but it can really cause anxiety in children and young people.”
Human-induced climate change is driving up global temperatures, with the past 10 years the warmest on record, according to theWorld Meteorological Organization. Children, particularly those affected by inequality and discrimination, bear the brunt of climate change impacts that are already forcing them from their homes, putting food out of reach, damaging schools and increasing risks like child marriage as they are forced out of education and into poverty.
Limiting warming temperatures through the rapid phase-out of the use and subsidy of fossil fuels is critical for children’s rights and lives, Save the Children said.
Earlier this year,research releasedby the child rights organisation with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) found that the difference between global temperature rise of 1.5°C and 2.7°C could see 38 million more children from the 2020 birth cohort face unprecedented lifetime exposure to extreme heatwaves. [2] Save the Children also called for increased climate finance targeted at helping children and their families, child-centred and locally led adaptation and an increase in the participation of children in shaping climate action.
Save the Children New Zealand CEO Heather Campbell says, “The ICJ’s opinion strengthens the argument that climate inaction is a form of intergenerational injustice, disproportionately borne by those least responsible and least equipped to adapt.
“At home in Aotearoa New Zealand, children and their families are experiencing the devastating impacts of extensive flooding and other climate-related emergencies, including Cyclone Gabrielle. Communities across the Nelson Tasman region are still reeling from floods that have destroyed homes and farmland, displaced families and closed schools.
“On a recent visit to Solomon Islands, children told us about the impact rising sea levels were having on their communities, including monthly flooding in homes and schools, saline infiltration into fresh water supplies, and crops being destroyed. In other parts of the Pacific, communities are having to constantly rebuild after multiple cyclones in the last few years alone. These are not future scenarios – they are current realities.
“Save the Children welcomes the finding from the ICJ, and we also urge governments and development agencies to ensure that climate finance reaches those on the frontline of this crisis.
“Currently, only 2.4% of climate finance from multilateral funding sources is child centred. Even without the Court’s opinion, we know that states must do far more to protect children from the worst impacts of this crisis, including by significantly increasing climate finance to uphold children’s rights and access to health, education and protection.”
In light of the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, Save the Children New Zealand is calling on the New Zealand Government to renew its commitment to provide climate finance to help communities recover from climate induced loss and damage as well as working to reduce the country’s carbon emissions.
As the world’s leading independent child rights organisation, Save the Children works in about 110 countries, tackling climate change across everything we do. Save the Children supports children and their communities across the Pacific and globally in preventing, preparing for, adapting to, and recovering from both sudden climate disasters and slow onset climate change. We have set up floating schools, rebuilt destroyed homes and provided cash grants to families hit by disasters.
We also work to influence governments and other key stakeholders in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world on climate policies, including at the UNFCCC COP summits, giving children a platform for their voices to be heard.
Notes:
Multimedia can be foundhereincluding Vepaiamele with other young people on Tuesday 22 July, Vepaiamele at the Hague, and general vision of Vanuatu
[1] The Advisory Opinion is in response to a Pacific-led resolution (A/RES/77/276) to the UN General Assemblyadoptedby consensus on 29 March 2023. This was the result of an extensive campaign by a group of law students from the University of the South Pacific (Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change) with strong support from the Republic of Vanuatu. Save the Children has worked closely with thePacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Changeto ensure the voices of children and young people are incorporated into countries’ written and oral submissions to the Court. As part of her campaigning work, Vepaiamele and other activists met with embassies of high emitting countriesin Vanuatu ahead of the hearing to try and influence their submissions.
[2] The report found that, for children born in 2020, if global temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C rather than reaching 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels:
– About 38 million would be spared from facing unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves; o About 8 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to crop failures; o About 5 million would be spared from unprecedented lifetime exposure to river floods; o About 5 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to tropical cyclones; o About 2 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to droughts; o About 1.5 million children would be spared unprecedented lifetime exposure to wildfires.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union have been negotiating a collective employment agreement for career firefighters since 16 July 2024.
Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery Operations/Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler says Fire and Emergency has offered the Union a 5.1 percent pay increase over the next three years, as well as increases to some allowances.
“We consider the offer is fair, balances cost of living pressures being faced by individuals alongside fiscal pressures faced by Fire and Emergency and is consistent with the Government Workforce Policy Statement.”
Megan Stiffler says Fire and Emergency has invested significantly in its people and its resources for the safety of communities since it was established in 2017.
“The previous collective employment agreement settlement in 2022 provided a cumulative wage increase of up to 24 percent over a three-year period for our career firefighters.”
“Fire and Emergency has also been investing in replacing our fleet, with 317 trucks replaced since 2017 and another 70 on order. We are currently spending over $20 million per year on replacement trucks. There is also a significant programme of station upgrades underway, as well as investment in training,” she says.
“In 2023/24 most career firefighters earned over $100,000 per year, including overtime and allowances. The turnover rate for our career firefighters was just 3.6 percent last year, and the average length of service was 17 years. We work constantly with our people to ensure we are an employer of choice.”
“Our firefighters are highly trained and deeply committed to serving their communities and we are investing in our people and our resources, to support them. They do an incredible job keeping New Zealanders safe.”
A review of Nelson Hospital has confirmed concerns that staff shortages are increasing wait times and delaying people getting the care they need, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.
The Nelson Marlborough Clinical Quality and Systems Review carried out by Te Whatu Ora was released this afternoon and has found serious issues with the management and development of the nursing workforce at Nelson Hospital.
NZNO delegate Marijke Cooper says the findings of this review go to the heart of concerns nurses are striking over next week.
“Te Whatu Ora is failing to resource safe staffing levels and are delaying hiring more staff because of issues with their recruitment process.
“This is having a real impact on patients because they are unable to get First Specialist Assessments. We saw in media last week concerns overghost First Specialist Assessmentsat Nelson,” she says.
The review also found Nelson Hospital needs to do more to upskill their nurses.
“Requests from nursing staff to upskill are being frequently turned down. The hiring of high-calibre nursing staff is being limited because of an inflexible approach to part-time work.
“Nelson is also underinvesting in advanced nurse practice roles compared to other parts of New Zealand.
“Te Whatu Ora needs to commit to building a sustainable and high-skilled home-grown nursing workforce by upskilling nurses and hiring graduate nurses.”
Marijke Cooper says NZNO is concerned that despite the review raising concerns about poor communication practices at Nelson Hospital, none of our delegates are aware of any staff being consulted on it.
Source:Association of Salaried Medical Specialists
The review of Nelson Hospital released by Health New Zealand today is little more than a ‘plan to make a plan’ the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says.
The review just restates well-established problems with leadership and severe understaffing at Nelson Hospital which are causing delayed care for hundreds of patients.
The Nelson Review was commissioned after Senior Medical Officers spoke to media in March about the poor working conditions. Doctors, fed up with inaction, described massive wait times for first specialist appointments, and repeated refusals from leadership to address staffing shortages across many departments.
This prompted Health New Zealand’s chief clinical officer Richard Sullivan to commission a review. He said, “I would hope we will have some answers within weeks.”
“Four months later and all we have is a a plan to make a plan,” ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton says.”
Doctors, nurses and patients want solutions to these ongoing problems, not a bland description of known issues leadership should have addressed years ago.
“The review lacks timeframes, holds no leaders to account for these failures. Just last month Nelson Hospital was again in the news for booking “ghost clinics” in what appears to be an attempt to game the system in regard to first specialists’ appointments numbers.
“There is a worrying trend of poor management and poor leadership at Nelson Hospital which the review fails to address.”ASMS is disappointed there has been little engagement with hospital staff – and no consultation as to the review’s findings and recommendations.
“We understand regional deputy chief executive Martin Keogh and National Chief Clinical Officer Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard presented the report to just a handful of senior staff and gave other staff just 24 hours’ notice to a 30-minute briefing.
“This is a wasted opportunity to make positive change.”Dalton says the real finding from the review is that the issues at Nelson are present in other hospitals around the motu.
“The review uses comparative data that paints the dire picture of medical staffing gaps in similar sized hospitals across the country too. This aligns with our own findings.
We simply need more doctors,” she says.
“Short staffing and increased acute patient demand, coupled with a lack of accountability from our health leaders that allow hospitals to be so poorly staffed has bred a culture of getting by instead of getting ahead.”
Establishes new Singapore office to deepen local relationships and expand investment capabilities
SAN FRANCISCO & SINGAPORE – Sixth Street, a leading global investment firm, today announced the appointment of Stuart Wrigley as Partner, Head of Sixth Street Asia Pacific and Head of Capital Formation and Strategy International. Wrigley will also lead the firm's new Singapore office, which is expected to open in October 2025.
In this newly created role, Wrigley will be responsible for leading the expansion of Sixth Street's client franchise across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. His mandate will focus on deepening relationships with existing investors, while leading new capital formation activity, strategic partnerships and the expansion of the firm's investment capabilities in Asia Pacific. Sixth Street has built a longstanding track record in Asia Pacific, having invested in the region for more than a decade, including AirTrunk and ESR Group Limited.
“Stuart brings the depth of experience and expertise to accelerate our activity internationally,” said Sixth Street Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Alan Waxman. “We've developed a close relationship with Stuart over the course of two decades. In that time, he has demonstrated his strength as a business builder and clear alignment with our values of entrepreneurship, integrity and teamwork. We believe that the unconstrained and thematic nature of our investment platform is well positioned to deliver investment excellence and serve our investors in these strategic regions. We are committed to Asia Pacific and look forward to further expanding our presence through the opening of our new office in Singapore.”
Wrigley joins Sixth Street following a 24-year tenure at Goldman Sachs, where he most recently served as Head of Client Solutions Group in Asia Pacific for Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). In this role, he supported GSAM's expansion across Asia Pacific and led a team focused on developing tailored investment strategies for institutional and wealth management clients in the region.
“I have been consistently impressed with Sixth Street's culture, team and success in building a truly differentiated global investment firm,” added Stuart Wrigley, Partner, Head of Sixth Street Asia Pacific and Head of Capital Formation and Strategy International at Sixth Street. “Having spent 18 years in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, I believe that Sixth Street's flexible, long-term capital has a unique opportunity to further support great companies in these regions and, most importantly, serve our investors.”
About Sixth Street
Sixth Street is a global investment firm with over $115 billion in assets under management and committed capital. The firm uses its long-term flexible capital, data-enabled capabilities, and “One Team” culture to develop themes and offer solutions to companies across all stages of growth. Founded in 2009, Sixth Street has more than 650 team members including over 280 investment professionals around the world. For more information, visit www.sixthstreet.com, and follow Sixth Street on LinkedIn.
Women representing the more than 300,000 workers in female-dominated industries affected by the Government’s gutting of Aotearoa New Zealand’s pay equity system have today delivered a petition of 93,924 people to opposition MPs at Parliament.
“The Government has made it virtually impossible for people in female-dominated industries to be paid fairly, but this petition shows that women will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all,” said PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
“The workers who are affected by the cancellation of claims keep this country running with the essential work they do to support education, health, families and communities,” said Fitzsimons.
“Overnight the Government reversed decades of progress to correct pay rates for women, but we are heartened that tens of thousands of New Zealanders are supporting us,” said secondary school teacher and PPTA Executive Member Clare Preston.
“We are demanding that the Government undo the Equal Pay Act changes, reverse the claim cancellations, and deliver pay equity for all workers,” said Preston.
“The pay equity changes were a huge slap in the face for women and have a massive impact on the families and communities we care for, but we will continue to rise up,” said care and support worker and E tū delegate Jo-Chanelle Pouwhare.
“We will not stop fighting until the Government listens to us,” said Pouwhare.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved a fungicide with a new active ingredient that controls blackspot and powdery mildew on apples and pears, and Botrytis on grapes.
UPL New Zealand Limited applied to import or manufacture Rhapsody, a fungicide containing 218 g/L ipflufenoquin, a chemical new to New Zealand.
UPL says Rhapsody gives growers an alternative to other products that may be becoming less effective due to increasing resistance, gives another option for late season use, and is lower risk to human health.
“This approval means growers will have access to an innovative tool with a new mode of action, helping protect crops vital to New Zealand’s primary sector,” says Dr Lauren Fleury, EPA Hazardous Substances Applications Manager.
The apple industry contributed almost $2 billion to the New Zealand economy last year, and the wine export value reached approximately $2.4 billion.
The decision to approve Rhapsody was made following a rigorous assessment and consultation process, says Dr Fleury.
“As this product contains an active ingredient that is new to New Zealand, we assessed the scientific data and evidence, as well as economic and local information, to enable access to new chemistry while continuing to protect people’s health and our unique environment.”
Ipflufenoquin has been approved in other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA.
This decision is the latest for the EPA, which has reduced the queue of hazardous substance release applications by almost 21 percent since 1 July 2024. The EPA has set ambitious assessment targets for the coming year, including increasing the number of assessments for substances containing new active ingredients.
“We understand the importance of timely access to new products. Continuing to reduce the queue and assess new active ingredients is a top priority for us.”
The substance can only be used by professionals in commercial settings, and users must comply with specific controls.
As an agricultural compound, Rhapsody must also receive approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) before it can be used in New Zealand.
