NZ: Young environmentalists get graphic

Generation Zero. Youth organisation Generation Zero outside Parliament, calling for political parties to show leadership on climate change.

Young environmentalists get graphic
02/05/2014

Passionate young environmentalists known for eyebrow-raising stunts have taken a simple message to Parliament: you're leading us in the wrong direction.

Generation Zero's giant painted graph unfurled at the Beehive yesterday highlighted the difference between the projected greenhouse gas emissions under the current Government and the country's potential reductions if it followed the example of Denmark.

The Danish Government has pledged to make the country independent of fossil fuels by 2050. Generation Zero wants to see a similar election promise from our political parties, spokesman Paul Young said.

"We want to see some bold leadership on this. It's also a message for the public, that it's our role as engaged citizens to be showing support for political parties to do this."

The group also launched a report yesterday aimed at politicians, emphasising the current Government policies to address climate change will only make a fraction of a difference to New Zealand's total greenhouse gas output.

Instead of pumping out 82.5 million tonnes, total Government efforts will reduce this to 82.2m tonnes – only by 0.4 per cent – by 2030, according to Ministry for the Environment estimates.

This was Generation Zero's first step in a larger project, which would see them launch a Clean Energy Plan for the country in July. The group gained notoriety in 2012 after stripping to underwear and woollies on commuter trains to protest road funding.

Climate Change minister Tim Groser was overseas and associate minister Simon Bridges was unable to be reached for comment.

Green Party climate change spokesman Kennedy Graham said rather than wishful thinking, Generation Zero's goals echoed the calls of the country's leading climatologists. "But we only have about five years to turn it around."

Graham currently has a private member's bill in the ballot, committing to reducing emissions by 88 per cent by 2050.

Labour spokeswoman Moana Mackey said dealing with climate change was often presented as too expensive to address, but it would be more costly to ignore as the burden would fall to future generations.

Massey University climate scientist Ralph Sims said the group's efforts would show the Government were risking a "public uprising" if they chose short-term goals like re-election over the long-term environmental well-being.