Reversal of Ban: New Zealand Resumes Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling in Response to Climate Predicament
In a move that has sparked controversy, the New Zealand government has decided to resume offshore fossil fuel exploration, a decision that is widely seen as incompatible with the Paris Agreement goals and the International Energy Agency's (IEA) call to halt new oil and gas projects.
This decision comes after the government repealed the 2018 ban on new oil and gas exploration offshore, citing energy security, investment, and economic growth concerns amid gas shortages and rising prices. However, this move conflicts with New Zealand’s previous climate commitments and international climate accords such as the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C. The IEA has stated that to meet the 1.5°C target, no new oil and gas fields should be developed beyond those already approved.
Critics argue that reopening exploration is a step backward that undermines global and domestic climate objectives, exposing the government’s prioritization of fossil fuel interests over climate commitments. New Zealand’s exit from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, an international coalition focused on phasing out fossil fuels, further highlights this divergence.
Government officials, including Resources Minister Shane Jones, defend the decision as a pragmatic approach to ensure energy security and reduce price volatility, claiming the 2018 ban exacerbated gas shortages. Nevertheless, this stance faces strong opposition from environmental groups and experts advocating for increased renewable energy investment consistent with the Paris Agreement.
The opposition parties and environmental organizations have criticized the resumption of offshore prospecting, with Labour MP Megan Woods lamenting an "ideological desire to look to the past instead of investing in the future." The need for renewable energies, sobriety, and reduced meat consumption to address the climate crisis has been established.
The IEA has provided answers to questions about the climate crisis, emphasizing the need to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Human activities, which consume fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), are responsible for the unprecedented rapid warming threatening the future of societies and biodiversity. To limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century, as agreed by the international community in 2015, the share of fossil fuels in total energy supply must decrease significantly by 2050.
In summary, while New Zealand presents the move as necessary for economic and energy reasons, it runs counter to the climate targets of the Paris Agreement and the IEA’s guidance on halting new fossil fuel developments aimed at tackling the climate crisis. The resumption of offshore prospecting goes against the objectives of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change.
- The government's decision to resume offshore fossil fuel exploration conflicts with the environmental-science principles and policy-and-legislation outlined in the Paris Agreement, which emphasizes the need to transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources to combat climate-change.
- The resumption of offshore exploration in New Zealand, supported by political figures like Resources Minister Shane Jones, is subject to criticism from opposing parties, environmental groups, and experts in the field of environmental-science, who advocate for increased investments in renewable energy sources as a more sustainable response to climate-change.
- In the face of mounting general-news reports and expert opinions, it appears that the government's decision to continue offshore fossil fuel exploration stands in contrast to the values and objectives of international organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the general consensus among climate-change scientists and policymakers regarding the need to address climate-change by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
