Environmental Law Initiative - Aotearoa NZ

Let’s ensure our laws are upheld. (8/8)

Govt's climate strategy: Let it burn Comment: The Government has relentlessly pursued policies that boost climate pollution – even if they cost more or jeopardise NZ's reputation, Marc Daalder writes

We will be posting updates from the High Court on 16–18 March.

Read a breakdown of the Govt’s climate retreats in Newsroom:https://buff.ly/0IicVcM

Learn more about the case at eli.org.nz.

In a landmark 2025 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice set out the legal duty of nations to curb emissions and restore natural sinks.

We believe the Minister has breached both these international duties and our own Climate Change Response Act.

Aotearoa urgently needs a credible plan to protect our communities, te taiao, and the future our children will inherit.

As a country with some of the highest emissions per capita, we must do our bit in the global effort to secure a liveable future. (6/8)

A central issue is the Govt’s heavy reliance on pine plantations. 🌲

Instead of transitioning away from fossil fuels and reducing emissions at source, the Govt is leaning on short-term carbon absorption that has documented risks and doesn't provide long-term cooling. (5/8)

We’re also challenging the second plan. Evidence suggests the chances of meeting our 2026–2030 emissions budget are "not much better than a coin toss." 🪙

Currently, the country is off-track for its 2030 methane target. We need a plan based on science, not luck. (4/8)

We argue the Minister unlawfully weakened the first ERP through a flawed, "tick-box" consultation process.

The resulting amended plan is incoherent and internally contradictory, undermining Aotearoa’s climate progress. (3/8)

Under the Climate Change Response Act, the Govt must put in place an emissions reduction plan (ERP) to meet our targets.

Each 5-yearly plan is a stepping stone toward net-zero emissions by 2050. These aren't just suggestions - they are legal requirements. (2/8)

Next week, we’re heading to the High Court. ⚖️

Alongside Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, we’re taking the Minister of Climate Change to court over a deeply flawed strategy that we argue breaches the law and endangers Aotearoa NZ’s climate goals. (1/8) 🧵

#EnvironmentalLaw #ClimateActionNZ #Aotearoa

Environmental Law Initiative Protecting and restoring Aotearoa's natural resources using law and science. Species & Biodiversity | Freshwater & Wetlands | Marine Environments | Climate Change

Read more at Eli.org.nz and lawyersforclimateaction.nz.

The countdown is on. With our friends Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, we’re taking the Minister of Climate Change to court for hitting delete on more than 35+ climate policies and having an “emissions reduction plan” that doesn’t actually reduce emissions (amongst other things).

#ClimateLitigation

ELI & LCANZ v Minister of Climate Change will be heard in the High Court on Monday

Offsetting is no substitute for emissions cuts - Zero Carbon Analytics Evidence shows offsetting is not an exact substitute for cutting emissions and overreliance could undermine global efforts to limit warming.

"This is the first case to challenge a government for relying on tree planting to meet climate obligations at the expense of actual emissions reductions. ..it could set a precedent to hold countries liable for how offsetting is used in climate plans and demand stronger action.
 buff.ly/Ietl6zx

Landmark case could force rewrite of emissions strategy The once quiet workhorse of climate policy - the humble tree - is now headline material, fuelling political fights and finding itself at the very root of a legal battle over our climate future.

Listen in here: www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

We're in the High Court next week against the Minister for Climate Change. Helpfully, The Detail have done a deep dive into what our case is about. We're taking the case jointly with our colleagues at Lawyers for Climate Action NZ.
Well worth a listen or read. #nzpol #climatelitigation #climate

You can read more about the case at Eli.org.nz and lawyersforclimateaction.nz.

We thank everyone for their support 🌎️

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#ClimateLitigation
#ClimateAction
#ClimateJustice
#ClimateActionNZ
#ClimateActionAotearoa
#ZeroCarbonAct
#NZlaw
#NZPol

With just 10 days to go the team is busy-busy prepping for the hearing: ELI and Lawyers for Climate Action NZ v The Minister of Climate Change.

The government’s Emissions Reduction Plan is dangerously inadequate. We urgently need a credible plan that takes action to actually reduce emissions.

In many parts of Southland, the report draws a link between higher nitrates and dairy farming, winter grazing being described as a "high-risk pathway for nitrogen leaching".

#nitratecrisis
#southland
#freshwater
#nitrates

"Overall, 612 (44%) of domestic supply wells and 18 (45%) registered public drinking-water supplies were located "within areas classified as having high vulnerability to nitrate contamination" and were used by an estimated 13,632 people on public groundwater and 1530 people on private supplies."

Nitrate news 'not good’ for Southland Widespread degradation of Southland’s drinking water safety has been exposed in a council-commissioned report. The Environment Southland report...

The nitrate crisis isn’t just a Canterbury problem. Environment Southland has allowed waste from farming at levels now giving rise to widespread degradation of Southland's drinking water. Mary Williams from the ODT reports.

buff.ly/9hKWKaP

Protecting Māui and Hector’s dolphins from extinction — Environmental Law Initiative We are taking the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to court for failing to adequately protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.

At the heart of our case is the government’s Hector’s and Māui Dolphin Threat Management Plan (the Plan). We argue that the Plan fails to adequately protect the dolphins from fishing-related deaths.
Read more here: www.eli.org.nz/cases/maui-a...

From October 27th - 29th, we'll be in the Wellington High Court, challenging the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries for failing to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.

Māui & Hector's Dolphin case update:
After navigating some prolonged procedural matters, including the seafood industry insisting on joining as a respondent in the case, we now have a court date!

#dolphins #conservation #MāuiDolphins #HectorsDolphins

The pressure campaign that sank a phantom water tax There was no water tax. But through branding and a manufactured sense of urgency, a pressure campaign on the Government appeared to secure a victory.

Here is the correct link: www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

The pressure campaign that sank a phantom water tax There was no water tax. But through branding and a manufactured sense of urgency, a pressure campaign on the Government appeared to secure a victory.

oops, yes here we go: www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

"What unfolded over fewer than 48 hours was not the defeat of a new policy. It was a case study in how modern lobbying can manufacture urgency around a complex issue, attach a politically toxic label to it, and force a government into public retreat before the details are widely understood."

This piece in The Press is a clear exposé of the way vested interests - the farming lobby, backed by the likes of the Taxpayers Union - directly undermine the public interest and our taiao.

www.thepress.co.nz/.../pressure....
#nzpol #freshwater

Submission: ELI response to the proposed Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill (replacing the RMA) — Environmental Law Initiative The Bills remove established environmental limits, enable more pollution by opening new rights not previously legally available to polluters, limit public standing to participate, as well as judicial ...

We strongly oppose the progression of the Bills through to law.

Read our full submission here: www.eli.org.nz/updates/rma-...

The Bills substantially weaken NZ’s environmental safeguards. They remove longstanding limits on pollution, introduce new rights for polluters that have never existed, diminish public participation, restrict judicial review, and undermine the stated intent of building an “enduring” planning system.

Background image with a lake and hills and some bush. ELI logo, with the text, "Submission. The Government plans to replace the RMA with two Bills. Our response: “The Bills, as proposed, would result in untenably weak environmental laws that could not feasibly endure.”

The Government plans to replace the Resource Management Act with two Bills. As proposed, they would result in untenably weak environmental laws that could not feasibly endure. If the goal is to create an enduring system, the law must get fundamental #environmental protections right.
#nzpol