The economic recovery from Covid-19 offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn the tide on ecological and climate devastation. You must seize it. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n The decisions you make right now could help to restore the natural systems we depend on to survive – from the climate, to healthy soils, to abundant oceans and clean water. You have a chance now to build an Aotearoa New Zealand where native forests are rebounding and once again alive with birdsong. Where water is clean and rivers are safe for swimming in again. A New Zealand that is recognised globally for our world-leading sustainable farming and fishing sectors. Where we power our homes with clean energy from the sun and wind. Where our streets are safe for walking and biking to school and work.<\/p>\n\n Just as easily, a lack of ambitious and visionary policy – a continuation of business as usual – would lock us into further climate and ecological devastation with long-lasting repercussions for young people, wildlife, and the essentials on which they depend.<\/p>\n\n Last term, you laid the groundwork. You positioned New Zealand, both domestically and internationally, as a nation that wants bold action on climate change and the ecological crisis. You introduced important frameworks like the Zero Carbon Act. A good house was built, but it is still unfurnished. Now is the time to fill this house with the policies needed to start cutting emissions, stop pollution and restore nature.<\/p>\n\n You hold the weight of our futures and our children\u2019s futures in your hands. If there ever was a time to be unwaveringly courageous, it is now.<\/p>\n\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n Russel Norman<\/p>\n\n It is our view that the following policies would have the most significant, positive impact on New Zealand\u2019s ecological and climate footprint. <\/p>\n\n Scientists have identified a set of nine ecological and biophysical limits within which the Earth can continue to sustain human society. These are known as the \u2018safe planetary boundaries.\u2019 Scientists warn, \u201cTransgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems.\u201d<\/em>2<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n There are three planetary boundaries that have already been breached. They are biodiversity loss, climate change and the nitrogen cycle<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n According to the World Economic Forum, the top four risks that face the world in 2020-2030 are all related to climate change and biodiversity loss.3<\/sup> They are:<\/p>\n\n Before Covid-19, emissions of carbon dioxide were rising by about 1% per year over the previous decade<\/a>.4<\/sup> According to the UN, the world was on course for a more than 3\u00b0C spike, even if climate commitments are met. The risks of a 3\u00b0C rise in temperatures<\/a> include irreversible tipping points, where forests turn from carbon sinks to carbon sources, thawed permafrost releases enormous amounts of previously-trapped greenhouse gases and runaway climate change becomes a reality.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n The UN<\/a> says global emissions need to fall by 7.6% each year over the next decade, if the world is to get back on track towards the goal of limiting temperature rises to close to 1.5\u00b0C.6<\/sup> This is the critical threshold that our Pacific neighbours say we must not cross in order to protect their islands from sea level rise. The ground-breaking 2018 IPCC report<\/a> famously noted that global carbon emissions would need to be cut by half by 2030.7<\/sup> As Oxfam<\/a> has recently pointed out, New Zealand\u2019s fair share requires us to be significantly more ambitious.8<\/sup> However, three years have now elapsed since the IPCC\u2019s report with no marked change in our emissions trajectory.<\/p>\n\n The Covid-19 pandemic may offer some reprieve. According to the journal Nature Climate Change<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Covid-19 will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 of around four to seven percent, depending how the pandemic unfolds. The higher end of this estimate is comparable with what is needed every year from now on if we are to stop global warming at around 1.5\u00b0C.9<\/sup> Covid-19 has, perversely, given us a second chance. But only if the pandemic is followed up by policies that ensure an accelerated transition to a green economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Here in New Zealand, we have the fifth-highest emissions per capita and the second-highest level of emissions per gross domestic product unit of the 35 OECD countries<\/a>.10<\/sup> We also have the highest methane emissions per capita in the world – six times the global average. Our net emissions increased by a whopping 65% from 1990 to 2017. Our two largest contributors to gross emissions in 2017 were the agriculture sector<\/strong> (48.1%) and the energy sector<\/strong> (40.7%), with road transport the fastest growing source of emissions in New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n According to Climate Action Tracker<\/a>, New Zealand is one of the few countries to have a net zero carbon goal enshrined in law (the Zero Carbon Act), but short-term policies cannot yet keep up with that ambition.11<\/sup><\/p>\n\n According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services<\/a> (IPBES12<\/sup>), nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history \u2013 and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating<\/strong>, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely.<\/p>\n\n Land conversion (especially industrial agriculture and mining), direct exploitation (including overfishing and poaching), pollution (including plastic and agricultural\/industrial\/mining run-off), climate change and pest species are the key direct drivers.<\/p>\n\n The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned<\/a> that, if current rates of soil degradation continue, all of the world’s topsoil could be gone within 60 years, risking food system collapse.13<\/sup> Scientists forecast that large ocean fish could be wiped out by 2050<\/a>.14<\/sup><\/p>\n\n The ongoing erosion of our natural world is also contributing to a global increase in zoonotic epidemics<\/a>.15<\/sup> Seventy-five percent of emerging infectious human diseases are closely linked with environmental changes<\/a>.16<\/sup> Intact ecosystems naturally restrain the transfer of these diseases. But, when ecosystems are degraded, these natural barriers are stressed and broken down. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it increasingly clear that human, animal and environmental health are all interconnected. Restoration and regeneration of nature is therefore an essential investment in public health.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Here in New Zealand, our biodiversity has declined significantly<\/a>. Marine, freshwater, and land ecosystems all have species at risk: 90 percent of seabirds, 76 percent of freshwater fish, 84 percent of reptiles, and 46 percent of vascular plants are currently threatened with or at risk of extinction. The extinction risk has worsened for 86 species in the past 15 years. The conservation status has improved for 26 species in the past 10 years, but more than half require active management to stay that way.17<\/sup><\/p>\n\n The loss of native vegetation has continued in recent years, with more than 70,000 hectares lost between 1996 and 2012 through conversion to pasture, plantation forestry, and urban areas. Introduced pest species, diseases and climate change are also major drivers of biodiversity decline.<\/p>\n\n The impacts of the nitrogen cycle breach are many and are already being seen around the world. They include; the rapid growth in nitrous oxide emissions, freshwater pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, oceanic dead zones, loss of potable drinking water and human illnesses.18<\/sup> Moreover, nitrogen pollution impairs humanity\u2019s efforts to return to or remain within a number of the other planetary boundaries, including stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change.19<\/sup> Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is the single largest cause of this breach.20<\/sup><\/p>\n\n New Zealand\u2019s nitrogen balance has worsened more than in any other OECD country, primarily due to expansion and intensification of dairy. The largest sources of nitrogen pollution into New Zealand\u2019s rivers, in order of magnitude, are: urine from dairy cattle, urine from sheep followed by synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.21<\/sup> The application of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser has increased by 670% since 1990.22<\/sup> The use of synthetic fertiliser in New Zealand has enabled the intensification of dairy farming, leading to higher stocking rates and a substantial increase in the number of dairy cows. <\/p>\n\n At elevated levels, nitrate in drinking water impacts on human health. At levels higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit nitrate contamination can be fatal. Many groundwater wells in Aotearoa New Zealand already exceed this limit. Recent research indicates that nitrate levels much lower than the World Health Organisation limit are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.<\/strong>2324<\/sup> The Canterbury Medical Officer of Health has warned that nitrate contamination is a looming public health risk in Canterbury<\/a>,25<\/sup> which is home to the highest stocking rates and highest synthetic fertiliser use in the country.<\/p>\n\n With billions of dollars being created to spend on the Covid Recovery, we have a rare and unique opportunity to redesign our economy and build the new infrastructure needed to address the climate and ecological crises. This moment will not come again. You must not squander this opportunity to come out of today\u2019s public health crisis better able to respond to the climate, biodiversity and inequality crises. <\/p>\n\n Covid-19 has taught us that, when we destroy nature, we open the door to harmful diseases that put people\u2019s health at risk and cause our societies and economies to grind to a halt. <\/strong>It\u2019s becoming harder and harder to argue that you have to trade off the environment for the sake of the economy, when it\u2019s environmental destruction that caused our current recession. The economy is a subset of the functioning natural systems that we rely on. When we push those systems to the brink, our health and our economic prosperity suffer. Investing in the restoration of nature is an investment in long-term prosperity.<\/p>\n\n Research from Massey University<\/a> shows seven out of 10 New Zealanders want a green recovery from Covid-19.26<\/sup> This mirrors global research<\/a>, which finds that citizens across the world want their Governments to use the Covid recovery to address bigger issues like climate change and to more fairly distribute wealth and prosperity.27<\/sup><\/p>\n\n The vast majority of New Zealanders are concerned about the climate crisis and their concerns are growing<\/a>.28<\/sup> The number of New Zealanders who feel the issue of climate change is important to them personally has grown to 79 percent, according to IAG polling. But only 35% think the Government is doing a good job<\/a>.29<\/sup> This holds strong even after the pandemic. In polling commissioned in April 2020, 63 percent of New Zealanders felt that if the government does not act now to combat climate change, it will be failing the people of this country<\/a>.30<\/sup> The top three environmental issues of concern for NZers are waste, climate change and water quality, in that order.<\/p>\n\n This polling and the election result indicate a very strong public mandate for visionary, ambitious and transformative change. There is more money on the table than ever before. There is no shortage of well-researched, evidence-based solutions, from academics, iwi leaders, civil society and the numerous reviews commissioned by the Government itself. This new Government is standing before an open door. You need only have the courage to walk through it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The urgency of addressing the climate and ecological crises, combined with the urgency of creating jobs and income in response to the Covid-induced recession must not lead to a panicked and rushed rebuild that excludes those who are already systematically marginalised in our society.<\/p>\n\n For example, early unemployment figures show that as many as 10,000 out of the 11,000 people who lost their jobs due to Covid-19 were women. We know that, in Aotearoa New Zealand, recessions hit M\u0101ori and Pacific communities the hardest. Our Government must prioritise projects that put women, and particularly women of colour, in good and stable employment.<\/p>\n\n Furthermore, new infrastructure – from public transport and cycleways to housing developments – must be designed with access for disabled people, elderly people and children at the centre. Priority should be given to infrastructure projects – including the restoration of nature – that serve regions and communities that are currently underserved.<\/p>\n\n Most importantly, urgency must not be used as an excuse for failing to genuinely work in partnership with M\u0101ori in decision-making, as per Te Tiriti o Waitangi.<\/p>\n\n The fact that human health and ecosystem health are connected is largely a novel concept to our Western political and economic institutions. But it is well-understood in many indigenous worldviews including Te Ao M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n\n Greenpeace recognises that a core pillar of environmental protection is indigenous sovereignty. The UN notes<\/a> that, \u201cThree-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment have been significantly altered by human actions. On average these trends have been less severe or avoided in areas held or managed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.\u201d<\/em>31<\/sup><\/p>\n\n According to the World Bank<\/a>, \u201cTraditional Indigenous Territories encompass up to 22 percent of the world\u2019s land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 percent of the planet\u2019s biodiversity.<\/em>\u201d32<\/sup><\/p>\n\n Greenpeace recognises the te reo M\u0101ori version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which guarantees tino rangatiratanga for M\u0101ori. We urge the Crown to honour its obligations under Te Tiriti.<\/p>\n\n Industrial dairying is New Zealand\u2019s single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. Intensive agriculture is eroding soil health, threatening access to fertile farm-land in the future. Our country needs a vision for transforming the agriculture sector in line with environmental limits and changing global consumer preferences. <\/strong>Subsequent Governments have shied away from meaningful action. We simply cannot afford another three years of inaction on New Zealand\u2019s biggest climate and water polluter. <\/p>\n\n The use of synthetic fertiliser in New Zealand has enabled the intensification of dairy farming. It has led to higher stocking rates and a substantial increase in the number of dairy cows.33<\/sup> This has in turn increased the methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the dairy herd. It has also significantly increased nitrate pollution of New Zealand\u2019s lakes and rivers. Synthetic fertiliser is a water and climate pollutant itself, notwithstanding its effect on intensification. Synthetic fertiliser\u2019s direct emissions are now greater than those from the entire domestic aviation industry.34<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n Studies show that decreasing synthetic fertiliser application on farms does not reduce profitability. In fact, the opposite is often true. A ten year in-field study by DairyNZ compared a farm with no synthetic nitrogen application and a farm using 181\/kg\/ha\/yr of urea. It found that in a system using no synthetic nitrogen at all \u201dprofitable milk production systems can be achieved without N fertiliser applications\u201d.<\/strong> At lower milk price ($4.60 kg\/MS) the farm using no synthetic N was more profitable than the one using 181 kgs.35<\/sup> A recent economic model done by the NZ Landcare Trust found that the farm with the lowest synthetic fertiliser use and the second smallest herd had the largest increase in profitability (29%) and a 13% reduction in nitrate leaching and an 18% reduction in GHG emissions.36<\/sup><\/p>\n\n In your last term, you introduced a nitrogen cap – a significant step for rivers and the climate. However, at 190kg per hectare, it is set far too high and will result in hundreds of thousands of tonnes still being used every year. Ultimately synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use must be phased down to zero. <\/p>\n\n Based on the above evidence of synthetic fertiliser\u2019s significant environmental impacts and the evidence of the ability to farm profitably without it, Greenpeace recommends a full and regulatory phase-out of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.<\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Phase out of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser by no later than 2024, by immediately introducing a sinking cap on its use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Though agriculture is currently our single biggest source of climate and water pollution, it has the potential to be one of our best solutions to the climate and ecological crises. Transitioning to regenerative organic farming will allow us to store more water and carbon in the soil, improve soil health and bring back biodiversity across rural New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n This is also what our global trading partners increasingly want us to produce. The value of the New Zealand organic export market grew 42% between 2015-2018. The global market for organic grew 397% between 2000-2016 – a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5%.37<\/sup> Some estimate it will reach US$679 Bn by 2027, with an estimated CAGR of 17.05%<\/a>.38<\/sup> In the European Union, the market for organics is growing faster than the area of production leading to high levels of imports. In Denmark for example, imports increased by 180% between 2008-2017; and by 20% in 2016-2017 alone.39<\/sup><\/p>\n\n Around the world, many Governments have recognised the environmental and social benefits of regenerative organic farming and increased public spending and policies to support it. We recommend the New Zealand Government follow suit and make the following investments, all of which are already in practice internationally. <\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Construct plant-based food manufacturing facilities and diversified, value-added food, fibre and timber processing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Construct large-scale municipal compost and seed facilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Provide one-off grant funding for agroforestry, cover-cropping and reduced tillage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Finance R&D, training and advisory services for regenerative organic farming.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Another significant driver of dairy intensification in New Zealand is imported feed. Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE) holds the largest share of imported animal feed in New Zealand by type, constituting 68 percent of total animal feed imports by volume<\/a>.40<\/sup> Almost all PKE goes towards feeding dairy cows. Imported feed makes it possible to push livestock farming beyond the natural limits of the land. Additionally, PKE needs to be shipped thousands of kilometres, carries significant biosecurity risks, and can come from operations associated with deforestation, peatland development and the displacement of indigenous peoples and local communities in Southeast Asia. <\/p>\n\n Fewer cows and a transition to more plant-based regenerative farming, which doesn\u2019t use imported feed or chemical fertilisers, is the solution to the environmental impacts of industrial livestock farming in New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Phase out all imported feed by no later than 2024, by immediately introducing a sinking cap on its use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The world\u2019s oceans provide half of our oxygen, food for a billion people, and a home for some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth. Protecting the oceans is also essential in the fight against climate change. The world\u2019s oceans have taken up more than 90 percent of the excess heat and between 20 and 30 percent of the emissions produced since the 1980s<\/a>.41<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n Here in New Zealand, our seas are home to some of the most rare, precious and endangered creatures. Eighty percent of our native biodiversity makes its home at sea42<\/sup>. But it is under enormous pressure. Ninety percent of New Zealand seabirds and twenty-two percent of New Zealand marine mammals (with sufficient data) are classified as threatened or at risk of extinction<\/a>43<\/sup>. Fisheries pose one of the greatest threats to creatures like <\/strong>Hoiho penguins<\/strong><\/a>44<\/sup><\/strong>, <\/strong>Albatross<\/strong><\/a>45<\/sup><\/strong> and <\/strong>M\u0101ui and Hector’s dolphins<\/strong><\/a>46<\/sup><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n We understand that the previous coalition arrangement made fisheries regulation challenging. The election result should be a clear indicator that you have the mandate to implement your commitments to ocean protection. <\/p>\n\n New Zealand\u2019s fisheries Quota Management System (QMS) has had no independent review in over 30 years. Stock collapses<\/a>47<\/sup>, exposure of systemic illegal fish dumping<\/a>48<\/sup> and ongoing evidence<\/a> of failure to report bycatch4950<\/sup>, indicate the current system of fisheries management is not working for environmental protection nor the long term sustainability of our fisheries. <\/p>\n\n The current system fails to account for the health of the whole marine environment. The QMS only looks at single fish stocks, while ignoring the effects on other marine wildlife and ocean ecosystems in the catching of those fish. Climate change is causing the ocean to change too. Fishing management must account for uncertainties in climate and ocean science, and use a precautionary principle for decisions related to commercial fishing and its environmental impacts.<\/p>\n\n There has been a long-standing call for an independent review of the management of fisheries. We were pleased to see an independent review of fisheries management adopted as a Labour Party election commitment in 2017. The previous coalition government was unable to deliver on this, but we strongly encourage a return to this commitment. For a fair and transparent fisheries reform process, the Government must undertake a review of the quota management system via an independent third party group – outside of the Ministry of Primary Industries – and ensure a balance of stakeholders are involved, including iwi and hap\u016b, customary fishers, independent scientists and environmental groups.<\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Undertake a transparent and independent review of fisheries management.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n There is a pattern of under-reporting<\/a>51<\/sup> and illegal dumping<\/a>52<\/sup> by the New Zealand fishing industry, which has been exposed over the last decade. MPI has found that commercial fishing vessels are nine times more likely to report catching a seabird when there is an observer on board<\/a>53<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n Cameras on boats regulation was introduced in 2017, following the Heron Report<\/a>, which exposed systemic illegal fish dumping by the commercial fishing industry, and failures by MPI to prosecute the offenders54<\/sup>. However, the programme has faced continued stalls and delays. There can be no more excuses for delaying this essential legislation.<\/p>\n\n The implementation of cameras on boats is ultimately about transparency, and compliance with the law. The primary feature of a successful programme therefore will be \u2018checks and balances\u2019 built into the systems for collecting, reviewing and using footage. Without \u2018checks and balances\u2019 the purpose of cameras on boats will not be served. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Accessible, cost-free systems for the public and interested parties to gain access to the footage for verification and transparency.<\/p>\n\n We acknowledge your pre-election funding commitment, which would amount to the implementation of cameras on approximately 20 percent of the registered commercial fishing fleet by 2024. This is a step in the right direction but is not nearly ambitious enough to arrest the decline of fish stocks and ocean biodiversity. Cameras must be introduced on all commercial fishing vessels within this Term of Parliament.<\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Introduce a mandatory requirement for cameras on all commercial fishing vessels within 3 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Ensure transparency by providing cost-free access to footage gathered for independent verification. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Bottom trawling is an indiscriminate and destructive industrialized fishing technique, where heavily weighted nets are dragged along the seafloor, decimating slow growing corals and sponges in the benthic environment. Areas which have been trawled show no signs of recovery even decades later<\/a>55<\/sup>. Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) (defined, in short, by the FAO<\/a> as areas with benthic life that is easily disturbed and slow to recover56<\/sup>), such as seamounts, are often targeted by commercial fishers as they are biodiversity hotspots. However, these ecosystems provide marine life crucial areas to feed, breed, and take refuge, and their destruction undermines the entire ocean ecosystem. As above, the current approach to fisheries management fails to account for these wider ecosystem impacts of commercial fishing. <\/p>\n\n Around the world developed nations are moving away from destructive bottom trawling. The practice has been completely banned in Hong Kong<\/a>57<\/sup>, the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation has protected all seamounts and vulnerable marine ecosystems from bottom trawling<\/a>58<\/sup> and the EU has adopted strict new rules on the practice<\/a>59<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n In contrast in New Zealand waters between 2013 to 2017, 841 square kilometers, or seven Wellingtons, of previously untouched seafloor was trawled for the first time<\/a>60<\/sup>. The New Zealand fleet destroyed more than 3,000 tonnes of corals and sponges in the 2017\/18 fishing season alone<\/a>61<\/sup>. On the world stage, <\/strong>New Zealand is one<\/strong> of only a handful of nations still bottom trawling international waters <\/strong>and the New Zealand Government has pushed for even less protection from bottom trawling in international waters.<\/p>\n\n The IPBES reports the world is now in a biodiversity crisis<\/a>, with more than a million species at risk of extinction62<\/sup>. The vast majority of New Zealand\u2019s native biodiversity is found at sea63<\/sup>. If we are going to protect biodiversity and ensure the long term health of our fisheries and marine environment we must end bottom trawling. <\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Close all vulnerable marine ecosystems in the NZ EEZ to bottom trawling. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Stop issuing permits for the NZ fleet to bottom trawl in the South Pacific. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Negotiations for a new legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea began in 2018 and are set to conclude in 2021.<\/p>\n\n This \u201cGlobal Oceans Treaty\u201d is a once in a generation opportunity to set up the mechanism which will allow for the oceans protections we so urgently need. Scientific consensus is that at least 30% of the global oceans must be fully or highly protected in order for the ocean biodiversity to recover and thrive into the future, and for the oceans to build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.<\/p>\n\n Address decision making in the Treaty itself (not left to the CoP), and adopt a majority, rather than consensus approach. <\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Advocate for a UN Global Oceans Treaty which will enable the effective creation of large scale MPAs in international waters. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Seabed mining is a relatively new and experimental method of extracting metals and minerals from the seafloor. It involves dredging up seafloor to a ship<\/a>, where it is then sorted and the valuable minerals or metals are extracted and exported offshore64<\/sup>. The unwanted matter (up to 95% of what was dredged) is then dumped back into the water. This dumping causes a sediment \u2018plume\u2019 which can cover several kilometers, smothering the surrounding sea floor, and interfering with the light crucial to marine life. Both the extraction and the sediment plume causes destruction of the marine environment, and creates additional pressures on fisheries and other marine life. <\/p>\n\n Seabed mining at scale is not being undertaken anywhere in the world, yet. However New Zealand waters are under threat from this new extractive industry. This year, a historic case will come before the Supreme Court, as local iwi, environmental and community groups try to hold back a permit for a large scale seabed mine being sought by international miners for the South Taranaki Bight. Several other mining companies are waiting in the wings for the outcome of this case. <\/p>\n\n This permit application is of international significance as mining companies around the world are looking for a precedent to open the gates for this industry. Across the Pacific several nations, including the Cook Islands<\/a>65<\/sup> and Tonga<\/a>66<\/sup> are being courted for exploitation by predominantly European-based seabed mining companies. Meanwhile, other Pacific Islands such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have called for support for a ten year moratorium on seabed mining<\/a>67<\/sup>. Many scientists have expressed serious concerns<\/a> over the multiple potential impacts of seabed mining68<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n It is not good enough to rely on the resources and energy of iwi and community groups to protect New Zealand waters against the interests of international miners. The New Zealand Government should be taking a precautionary approach, and leading the defence of the marine environment against experimental and exploitative mining activities, as well as being a strong voice of support for our Pacific neighbours in protecting their marine ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Ban on seabed mining in New Zealand\u2019s EEZ.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Recommendation: Support an immediate moratorium on seabed mining in the Pacific for no less than ten years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The energy sector is responsible for about 40 percent of New Zealand\u2019s emissions. To turn this around, we need to firstly get more efficient at using what we\u2019ve already got. Secondly, we need to replace fossil fuels with clean, renewable electricity and other sustainable fuels, such as waste wood. SUMMARY OF KEY RECOMMENDATIONS<\/h2>\n\n
Tino Rangatiratanga<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Transforming New Zealand into a leading regenerative organic food producer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Oceans that are teeming with fish for generations to come<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Powering New Zealand on homegrown clean electricity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Transport infrastructure driving the Covid-19 recovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
A circular economy free of single-use plastic waste<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
Fit for purpose laws and government agencies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT<\/h2>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/25a4f829-planetary-boundaries-graphic.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nOur climate in crisis<\/h3>\n\n
Nature in decline<\/h3>\n\n
Nitrogen off the charts<\/h3>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/dbcf79a2-urea-use-cow-numbers-chart.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nCOVID-19 ECONOMIC RECOVERY: BUILDING BACK BETTER<\/h2>\n\n
Restoring nature is an investment in health and the economy<\/h3>\n\n
What New Zealanders want you to do<\/h3>\n\n
A just recovery<\/h3>\n\n
TINO RANGATIRATANGA<\/h2>\n\n
TRANSFORMING NZ INTO A LEADING REGENERATIVE ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCER<\/h2>\n\n
Synthetic Fertiliser<\/h3>\n\n
Regenerative Farming<\/h3>\n\n
Imported feed<\/h3>\n\n
OCEANS THAT ARE TEEMING WITH LIFE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME<\/h2>\n\n
Independent review of fisheries management <\/h3>\n\n
Cameras on all commercial fishing vessels<\/h3>\n\n
End bottom trawling on vulnerable marine ecosystems by the New Zealand fishing fleet<\/h3>\n\n
Support a strong Global Oceans Treaty<\/h3>\n\n
Ban seabed mining<\/h3>\n\n
POWERING NEW ZEALAND ON HOMEGROWN CLEAN ELECTRICITY<\/h2>\n\n