We will democratise and decarbonise New Zealand’s energy system through reform of electricity markets; support for community energy ownership and self-determination; legislated cuts in fossil fuel use; electrification of transport and heat; and big increases in energy efficiency and new renewable supply, to create an equitable, affordable and climate resilient energy system.
Vision
Aotearoa is an energy-sovereign nation where everyone has access to reliable, affordable and renewable energy from a democratised energy system that prioritises Māori, community and public ownership over private profit.
Values and Principles
Energy policy decisions must reflect the following values and principles:
- Social responsibility: Energy is an essential service to which everyone should have reliable and affordable access. The energy system should exist for the public good, not just for profit.
- Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi: When Māori rights and interests, resources and taonga are impacted by the energy system, these must be protected. Hapū and iwi should have tino rangatiratanga over energy and resources, including governance, ownership and direct benefit from energy infrastructure.
- Appropriate Decision-making: The production and supply of energy should be democratic and in public, community, hapū and iwi Māori control and ownership; and should be governed and operated with the primary objective of increasing energy sustainability, sovereignty, equity and resilience for all New Zealanders.
- Ecological Wisdom: The scale and rate of energy use, and the choice of energy source, should be constrained and managed to occur within ecological limits. In particular, recognising the existential threat of climate change, urgent mitigation of and adaptation to climate change and transition to renewable sources and away from fossil fuels are core objectives of energy policy.
- Non-violence: To minimise social, economic, and environmental disruptions from climate change, the phase-out of fossil fuel use needs to be rapidly achieved in such a way as the greatest burden is carried by the biggest industrial polluters, and is otherwise shared fairly and does not fall disproportionately on the poor or marginalised.
- Synergy: Take a holistic and coherent approach across government which creates co-benefits, and avoids trade-offs.
Strategic Priorities
The Green Party’s strategic goals include:
“Aotearoa will lead the world in reducing gross domestic emissions of all greenhouse gases, and will be on track to end fossil-fuel use and production no later than 2035, through legally binding mechanisms.”
“Sustainable transport, renewable energy and regenerative practices in all areas of economic activity, including land use and food production, will predominate.”
“Comprehensive support for communities and individuals affected both by the transition to a net zero emissions economy and by the impacts of climate change within New Zealand and the Pacific will be well established.”
Actions in this policy that will help achieve this:
- Fundamentally reform the electricity market structure and ensure that the market works in the public interest. (1.2)
- Ensure a national integrated energy transition strategy that includes: phasing out the use of fossil fuels while maintaining energy security for households and essential public services. (2.6.3)
- Establish Tiriti-based energy legislation that provides an enabling framework for Māori and Community involvement, ownership and leadership in energy projects. (3.1)
- Prioritise maintaining, strengthening and/or transforming existing energy infrastructures so they better withstand extreme weather events and can manage mass electrification and increase distributed energy resources. (3.9)
- Set an ambitious goal, consistent with our commitments to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees, to increase the share of renewable energy in the total primary energy supply, taking a strategic whole-of-system approach. (5.1)
Connected Policies
Energy has an intimate relationship with Climate Change policy. To achieve a resilient zero to negative carbon Aotearoa, we need to end the Mining and use of all fossil fuels and transform our energy sector to renewables, including the electrification of our Transport system. To a lesser extent, there are policy links in the following areas: Regarding the substantial need for fossil fuel reduction and opportunities for transition: Agriculture; regarding the protection of taonga resources from industrial energy generation: Freshwater and Conservation; regarding biofuels and carbon sequestration in permanent native forests: Forestry and Conservation.
