Two weeks ago, Canterbury and Nelson declared climate change emergencies. There was speculation at the time that parliament would follow suit, and while there's nothing on the order paper, a press release from national suggests that the Greens are putting a motion. And naturally, National is opposing it:
The Green Party’s motion without debate on declaring a climate emergency in New Zealand goes against the bipartisan approach to climate change, National’s Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller says.
[...]
“At first glance this looks like nothing more than political posturing and virtue signalling. This is especially true in light of the Minister’s recent comments that he anticipates emissions to continue to rise until the mid-2020’s.
Climate change is the most serious threat to New Zealand and our future. A declaration by Parliament of an emergency is signalling an intent to take it seriously and take real action to stop it and protect our lives. But National thinks that's "virtue signalling". Which is exactly what a party owned by polluters and climate criminals would say.
