Christopher Luxon's Government pulling out of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance is just the latest sign they care little for the climate crisis or cost of living it'll exacerbate, says the Green Party.
"Luxon's Government is throwing public money, oil, coal, and gas onto the climate crisis fire. Today they've told the world that they don't care about a stable climate or regular peoples' lives," says Green Party co-leader and spokesperson for Climate Change, Chlöe Swarbrick.
"Yesterday, we revealed that it took the Government just six months to breach a trade agreement they themselves signed up to with a $200 million handout to the fossil fuel industry. Today, we wake up to news that they are pulling our country out of an alliance to support nations' transition away from dependence on fossil fuels.
"The Government is straight up lying to New Zealanders when it talks a big game about renewables. They are handing out subsidies to fossil fuel extraction beginning in a decade, cutting local energy efficiency programmes, breaching our international agreements, and now walking away from long-standing coalitions with historically bipartisan support.
"Why would the Government do this? Well, it helps secure profits of fossil fuel executives and makes life harder for regular people. That tells you everything you need to know about who they think they work for.
"It doesn't have to be this way. The Greens know the economy can work for the wellbeing of people and planet, instead of exploiting and exhausting both, and our Budget, Industrial and Fiscal Strategies make that a reality," says Chlöe Swarbrick.
