The Green Party announced that it will seek to pass binding climate change legislation within the first 100 days in Government.
James Shaw, Green Party leader made this commitment to a Zero Carbon Act on Newshub's The Nation debate.
Shaw says, “If we are to treat climate change like our generation's nuclear free moment, we need to back that up in law.
“Successive governments have allowed New Zealand's climate pollution to keep growing, only the Greens have a plan to turn that around.
“A Zero Carbon Act will provide an anchor for government action on climate change and drive decisions across the economy to make sure New Zealand is doing its fair share to keep global warming under two degrees.
The Act will mean that climate targets are legally binding, and the Government will be obliged to have a detailed plan about exactly how it will meet those targets, details that are desperately missing right now.
Shaw continues, “Reducing pollution will mean investing to create a better New Zealand.
“It means investing in fast, electric and clean light rail in our cities, in warm insulated, energy efficient housing, in solar energy and cheaper electricity.
“This is the single most important thing we can do to ensure that we are protecting the health of our climate, and of our country, for future generations.
New Zealand's carbon emissions have been slowly rising over the past decade.
This has meant that it has been a primary focus in this year's campaign trail.
The Green Party has also announced a progressive plan to protect oceans and the places Kiwis love with a ban on plastic bags, refunds on drink containers, a phase-out of plastic packaging, and a commitment to sending zero waste to landfill by 2050.
Shaw continues, “We love our beaches and our oceans, our plan will protect the places we love from pollution and generate community jobs.
“Plastic pollution is a major problem along our coastlines and the time has come for bold action to clean the coastlines up and keep them clean.
“Plastic pollution is a major problem along our coastlines and the time has come for bold action to clean the coastlines up and keep them clean.
“Cash for trash refund programmes work with kerbside recycling to give people options and help keep recyclable waste out of landfills.”
Regardless of who makes it into office, it is important for Kiwis to preserve this beautiful country, therefore making the Zero Carbon Act legally binding would be a tremendous step in the right direction.