Labour

From Labour’s Policy manifesto:

Climate action should help make life more affordable now while protecting the future our kids will inherit.

New Zealand has abundant clean energy. We should be using it to lower power bills, create good jobs and make our communities more secure.

Labour’s SolarSaver will help families get solar without the upfront cost. Community batteries will let more neighbourhoods share the benefits of locally generated power, including households without panels on their roofs. Installing that equipment will also create work for local electricians, installers and apprentices.

We’ll cut emissions and help communities prepare for a changing climate.

Families, councils and businesses need a clear plan for protecting homes and infrastructure from extreme weather. We’ll work with them to build a safer future and make better use of the clean energy we have here at home.

LABOUR’S PLAN 2026 OUR PRIORITIES

SolarSaver

Solar without the upfront cost

Deliver SolarSaver to help households install solar and batteries without the upfront cost and provide safe plug-in solar for people who rent.

Community batteries

Store more cheap, clean power where it is generated. Establish a $30 million fund for community batteries to store locally generated solar power.

Restore the Emissions Trading Scheme

Make polluters pay their fair share and put the money back into climate action. Urgently review and fix the ETS so the carbon price drives real emissions reductions and puts New Zealand on track to meet our Paris Agreement targets.

Resilient communities Help communities prepare.

Pass a national Adaptation Act so communities, councils, Māori and government can plan together. Work with banks and insurers on affordable finance to make homes more resilient. Prevent building in the highest-risk locations and support more development in safer areas.

Moving beyond fossil fuels

Move from fossil fuels to cleaner, home-grown energy Reinstate the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration. Phase out low- and medium-heat coal boilers by 2037. The Government’s proposed LNG import facility in Taranaki will not proceed under a Labour Government.

Transport Cleaner ways to get around, with more affordable public transport.

Make public transport cheaper by capping weekly fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, and $10 everywhere else.

Labour’s program

Clean energy

• Work with industry to increase bioenergy, offshore wind and geothermal generation

• Make it easier to connect batteries, flexible demand and new generation to the electricity grid

• Train more people to install and maintain solar and other clean-energy technology

• Begin a review of structural reform of the electricity market in our first 100 days to deliver cheaper, cleaner power

Climate action

• Affirm New Zealand’s commitment to the Paris Agreement

• Make sure forestry ETS rules support New Zealand’s long-term climate goals

• Investigate establishing a climate fund, as ETS revenues allow, to invest in adaptation, renewable energy, native forests and nature-based solutions

• Work with Māori, forestry, councils and communities to reduce reliance on exotic forestry offsets

• Make sure methane targets keep New Zealand on track to meet its international commitments, while backing farmers to reduce emissions

• Provide independent, science-based public climate information

• Reaffirm the significant role that the Climate Change Commission plays in providing independent advice

• Repeal the Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill

Building for resilience

• Develop a national spatial plan so decisions about where we build are based on consistent risk information

• Develop open-source Kāinga Ora house designs for areas exposed to moderate natural-hazard risk

• Require Treasury to create guidance for central and local government on including resilience in business cases

Moving beyond fossil fuels

• Continue the transition away from coal at Huntly by scaling up biomass and storage

• Support electricity affordability through market reform, including at peak times, as we transition to cleaner energy

• Work in partnership with working people, unions, businesses, iwi, local communities, and councils to develop local transition plans

Transport and freight

• Strengthen clean-car emissions standards and work towards expansion of the EV charging network

• Accelerate decarbonisation of the government vehicle fleet

• Explore options to support businesses to transition to cleaner commercial vehicles

• Remove unnecessary barriers to cleaner shipping and aviation technology Forestry

• Work with Māori, forestry, councils and communities on a long-term alternative to relying on exotic forestry in the ETS

• Support the transition of suitable exotic carbon forests to indigenous forest • Better align forestry, biodiversity, erosion control and regional development AI and energy

• Make major data centres pay their way, so AI growth doesn’t push up household power bills or put unnecessary pressure on water and electricity infrastructure

The following is from the Party’s Policy Platform.

Chapter 4: A Healthy Environment - What we want to achieve:

4.1 All necessary measures are taken to protect and restore the environment, and improve environmental quality, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond; and the environment is safeguarded for future generations

4.2 In doing so, Labour is informed by the best national and international expert advice, including experts in mātauranga Māori, and guided by the values of kaitiakitanga (guardianship and sustainability)

4.3 The special connection Māori have with the natural environment is acknowledged and Labour embraces “the Māori concept of te Taiao – a deep relationship of respect and reciprocity with the natural world. The health of the climate, land, water and living systems comes first. And when nature thrives so do our families, communities and businesses.”

4.4 Acceptable environmental outcomes are achieved through identification, support and recognition of good environmental practices; and those persons who do not meet their obligations and continue to degrade the environment are held responsible

4.5 Legislative and regulatory measures account for their effect on the environment, in particular where they contribute to worsening the climate crisis

4.6 Given the health of our environment is of such fundamental importance, it is placed above partisan politics; and Labour works constructively with all political parties that are willing to ensure coherent, long-term action to achieve environmental goals.

Why we want to do this

4.7 Aotearoa New Zealand is part of the extreme ecological crisis facing the world – pollution of land, water and air; biodiversity loss that includes extinction of species; increasing incidence of extreme climate events; and resource depletion. This is our planet’s current reality, and adds up to an unprecedented existential threat to ecosystems, and human existence, on the planet.

4.8 Despite expressions of good intentions to address climate change, both nationally and internationally, action to date has failed to bring about the changes needed to mitigate this unfolding catastrophe, or adapt to its already inevitable impacts.

4.9 To prevent the worst impacts of global heating, the increase in global average temperature needs to be limited to, at most, 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (as per the 2015 Paris Agreement target).

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How we will go about achieving this

4.11 Without a healthy environment, there can be no healthy society or sustainable economy. Labour is therefore committed to all activity being conducted within environmental limits, and to an all-of-government approach (including regional and local) designed to ensure that all policy and regulation contributes to environmental health being restored, and that health being sustained.

4.12 Aotearoa New Zealand can demonstrate to the international community how to reverse environmental degradation. In particular, although not exclusively, this involves honouring commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (including to net zero by 2050, or earlier), consistent with the New Zealand Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency in 2020.

4.13 Labour will maximise greenhouse gas reduction efforts in Aotearoa New Zealand, through all tools available including education, research, incentives, legislation, the Emissions Trading Scheme, and better environmental practices.

4.14 Labour supports the ongoing development of a comprehensive risk assessment framework, including accurate and consistent monitoring and public reporting on the health of our environment. The framework needs to be informed by expert advice from a variety of sources, including engaging with mātauranga Māori, by the wisdom of others in our wider community, and by national and international bodies, such as the New Zealand Climate Change Commission and the International Panel on Climate Change.

4.15 Labour believes that the health of the environment is essential to the wellbeing of our people and other living things and to the achievement of a truly sustainable economy. Labour has highlighted this by replacing the previous narrow budgetary focus on economic growth and GDP measurement with a multifaceted set of wellbeing indicators. These are designed, among other things, to give proper weight to the ecological and environmental impacts of our activities.

4.16 Labour will work to shift Aotearoa New Zealand from carbon-intensive ways of living to sustainable and climate-resilient practices. This will necessarily involve swift and significant changes to many human activities, including primary production.

4.17 Labour acknowledges the difficulty and disruptiveness of this shift and is committed to a Just Transition for those adversely affected. In honouring this commitment, we recognise that restrictions and penalties must be complemented by encouragement of sustainable environmental practices. Also, effective and fair measures for adaptation and managed retreat must be put in place.

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4.21 Labour recognises the crucial role of non-government organisations in promoting sustainable environmental outcomes and bringing about positive change. Provision and dissemination of sound and up-to-date scientific advice, education and information about the state of the environment will enable these organisations to function properly.

4.22 Government agencies at central, regional and local level will lead by example in responsible environmental behaviour by minimising their carbon footprints, phasing out unsustainable practices, and showcasing appropriate technologies.

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4.26 In respect of the following activities, Labour says:

4.26.1 energy production must be clean, and its use efficient, with Aotearoa New Zealand moving away from reliance on fossil fuels and towards renewable energy; and energy demand reduced through improved efficiency and changes in our homes and workplaces

4.26.2 transport must move away from being fossil-fuelled – with walking and cycling being promoted, together with the provision of infrastructure that facilitates these options; public transport options and services being improved; and more environmentally friendly methods being developed for the movement of freight

4.26.3 extractive industries must minimise any environmental risk from their activities.