#118: Money makes the oil go round
On turning the merry-go-round the other way
Mōrena, and happy World Bicycle Day for yesterday!
What could be more fun than talking about money? Budget Day last week was appropriately ridiculous and terrible for climate as well as many other areas. As well as diverting money from public transport and the Climate Change Commission, they have cut budgets for emission reduction programmes, struck out funding for community energy and stole money from the emissions trading scheme (which taxes polluters) to give landlords tax refunds.
We need to take action to show them how disappointed we are. Join these public rallies:
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland: March for Nature - June 8
Pōneke Wellington: People over Profits and Planet Rally – June 8
Ōtautahi Christchurch: Stop the Wars, Stop the Fast Track Bill - June 8
What might a rational response to local climate disaster look like? Let’s look at Vermont. After devastating climate floods last week, Vermont passed a law to make fossil fuel companies pay for their share of contribution to the climate crisis:
“Finally, maybe for the first time anywhere, Vermont is going to hold the companies most responsible for climate-driven floods, fires and heat waves financially accountable for a fair share of the damages they’ve caused.”
- Washington Post
This decision is such a strong indication of what is possible. Who said it was ok for polluters to unfairly pollute our climate and damage our beautiful land for free?
Check out this graphic below showing the top six NZ companies who create more than half of our emissions:
There is a strong moral and ethical argument for our government to ensure that companies pay for their pollution, and the funds go to where they can do the most good for the environment.
Imagine for example, if the above companies paid their fair share for the damages from Cyclone Gabrielle?
What can we do today?
The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was to Sign the ‘Don’t subsidise Pollution’ petition before the June 18th handover. (Wellingtonians, feel free to join the handover!)
🐝 If you have 5 minutes: Finances and fish fingers
Since the Paris Agreement in 2016, the six largest US banks – Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs – have provided $1.4tn in financing to the fossil fuel industry. All while releasing a spate of climate promises, committing to achieve net zero by 2050 and reduce emissions by 2030.
Action: Send American Bank CEOs a message to stop funding the climate crisisThe ocean is a huge carbon sink, yet less than 1% of our marine areas are protected. Protecting our oceans builds resilience to climate change by reducing carbon emissions and increasing carbon sequestration.
Action: Give Shane Jones the (fish) finger!
🐇 If you have 15 minutes: Keep longing for a long-term future
Is your long-term savings fund eroding the chances of you having a long-term future? Currently, over $3.9 billion of KiwiSaver money is still involved in furthering fossil fuel expansion and production.
Action: Check if your Kiwisaver is funding the climate crisis - and switch to an ethical one!Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland: Public feedback showed Auckland overwhelmingly wants investment in public transport, yet the Regional Land Transport Plan doesn’t provide enough funding for the public transport requested by the council.
Action: Use our submission guide to submit on it
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Don’t miss the mystery!
Online, June 6th, 7 pm. Love a mystery? 350 Aotearoa are hosting an online action against the Fast-Track Bill. Jump online for less than half an hour to learn more!
Action: Join the mystery action session onlineTaranaki, by June 11th: The bus systems in Taranaki are changing in order to increase frequency while still enabling some connectivity to outer areas. Share and weigh in on which public transport is better.
Action: Hop in to choose an option for your new bus networkNew Plymouth, June 12th: Oppose the new oil & gas permits! The oil and gas industry is meeting in Ngāmotu (New Plymouth) at the 2024 Energy Resources Taranaki Forum to flesh out their plans to fast-track fossil fuel projects without public input. Everyone is warmly invited to a strong, non-violent opposition.
Action: Register for the protest
Wins
Wellington City Council has now had 9 out of 10 recommended amendments to their District Plan approved - which enables greater housing density around the city centre zone and along key public transit routes, which is a massive win for lowering transport emissions!
Speaking of where our money is going, if you can afford it, we’d really appreciate your support for Climate Club. Your investment really helps in the fight for positive change (such as keeping our businesses accountable!)
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this "Low Carbon Adventures" zine by Climate Club reader & journalist, Shanti.
See you next week,
Cathy & the Climate Club team
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