The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today.
"We fully support the demands of the climate strikers. As part of the Government the Green Party will continue to push for strong climate action in every community in Aotearoa New Zealand," says Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw.
"When we declared a climate emergency last year, we said it needed to be backed with action. For what was the declaration if not an acknowledgment of the obligation we have to pass on to our children and grandchildren a planet that is cleaner, more stable, and less polluted.
"Today the climate strikers have provided a set of demands that would help meet the scale of the challenge we have ahead. And their message couldn't be clearer: we need to act; and we need to act right now.
"As Aotearoa is a leader in the Pacific region, it's critical that we do all that we can to protect our Pasifika neighbours, whose homelands are already at risk.
"The decisions this Government takes will shape the type of world the climate strikers inherit from us. This is the world of their friends, classmates, brothers, sisters, and cousins.
"If we want their future to be safe, prosperous and stable, then we will need to do more to rapidly bring down emissions, whilst ending inequality, and making life better for everyone.
"But the clock is ticking. We have only nine years to cut global emissions in half. Yes, it will be a challenge but I am sure we can do it - for we have the technology, the ideas, and Greens in Government at the last possible moment before the window of opportunity closes forever.
"As part of the Government, the Green Party has already helped put in place one of the world's most ambitious legislative and institutional frameworks for long-term, meaningful climate action.
"But to meet our targets, these landmark achievements need to be followed by more hard work, in every part of the country. Hard work that together will add up to a better, more resilient future for our children and their children. And that is what we are focused on doing - both in Government and through Parliament.
"Later this year the Government will publish an Emissions Reduction Plan setting out how we plan to meet our climate targets. The climate strikers' demands will form an important part of this work. Not least their demands to ensure a just transition, an honouring of our Pasifika neighbours, and more climate education in schools," James Shaw said.
