Nation makes major commitment to combat global crisis: 'A target that is both ambitious and achievable'
Reuters reported that Simon Watts declared New Zealand's commitment to reducing pollution by 51-55% by 2035 during the climate change conference in November of 2024. While the country's goal is to be net zero by 2050, Watts said they could meet the criteria by 2044.
The Climate Commission — government-funded but independent — called out New Zealand, suggesting it could reduce pollution further than its original goal, considering that similar countries have more ambitious markers in sight.
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"We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious and achievable, reinforcing our commitment to the Paris Agreement and global climate action," Watts said in a statement. "Meeting this target will mean we are doing our fair share towards reducing the impact of climate change."
New Zealand has banned cigarettes for future generations, forever chemicals from cosmetics, and implemented a "burp tax" for farmers. Air New Zealand is investing in sustainable aviation fuel. While all of these are steps in the right direction, there's still a long way to go.
While New Zealand's total pollution is low globally, it has an above-average pollution per capita compared to other countries. Many worry if New Zealand doesn't take more drastic measures, the new, more conservative government will derail its obligations with more lax policies in regard to dirty energy sources.
When a country prioritizes its environment, it leads by example — not just to the rest of the world, but to the citizens who live there. Being held accountable by laws and regulations that are created to benefit and care for the world around us becomes a habit and a lifestyle. It inspires those to take local action, talk to friends and family, and advocate for changes at work and at home.
It's going to take a group effort to cool things down, and active leaders on the issue are crucial to the outcome.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
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Gazans are in desperate need of essentials after more than 21 months of war, but efforts to get aid into the Palestinian territory -- and to its hungry residents -- face major obstacles. UN agencies and aid organisations cite Israeli restrictions, safety issues and the establishment of a US- and Israeli-backed mechanism that has sidelined the humanitarian system in place. Israel says international organisations have failed, and that the previous UN-led system had allowed Hamas militants to loot aid trucks. On the ground, meanwhile, more than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading. - GHF: few sites, deadly incidents - Israel's chosen aid distributor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began operations on May 26 after a more than two-month total aid blockade. Now the main channel for distributing food to Gaza's more than two million people, GHF has faced chaos and deadly violence at its few distribution points. The United Nations and aid groups have refused to work with GHF, saying it was created to serve Israeli military interests. "They are not a humanitarian organisation... You don't deliver humanitarian aid in areas that have been completely flattened and militarised," said Arwa Damon, founder of INARA, a US-based NGO offering medical and mental health support to children. She noted the GHF's site locations -- along two military corridors in southern and central Gaza -- rather than being spread out across the territory. With only four GHG sites and huge crowds trying to reach them, there have been repeated reports of deadly fire near them. According to UN figures, Israeli forces have killed some 800 Palestinian aid-seekers near GHF sites since late May. Israel has rejected calls to restore the UN-led system, citing concerns that Hamas looted trucks and resold aid meant to be distributed free of charge. - Aid organisations sidelined - International aid groups say vast quantities of aid are stockpiled outside Gaza but require Israeli military clearance to enter. Inside Gaza, coordination with the military is also essential, as fighting and air strikes rage on. Damon accused Israel of preventing aid delivery by refusing to coordinate with NGOs to grant safe passage through combat zones. "Getting that coordination approved is incredibly challenging," she told AFP. "Not to mention Israel's lack of willingness to provide humanitarian organisations with a safe route to be able to ensure a secure pickup." The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday it had "thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza –- banned by Israeli authorities from entering since March". - 'Encountered death' for flour - Israel screens all goods entering Gaza, but COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, denies limiting the number of humanitarian trucks. On Thursday it said "around 70 food trucks were unloaded at aid crossings, and over 150 were collected by the UN and international organisations from the Gazan side". But more than 800 trucks remained uncollected, and Israel's military posted footage online of hundreds of trucks loaded with food aid "sitting idle inside Gaza". UN agencies and international NGOs reject Israeli claims that they lack the capacity to distribute food. They note that aid was distributed effectively in the past, including during the last ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that ended in March. In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, resident Yousef Abu Shehla said this week he had "encountered death" to get his hands on a bag of flour for his family. "We shall feed our children even if we die," he told AFP. glp/phz/acc/ami/dv Solve the daily Crossword
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Israel has imposed heavy restrictions on the amount of food and aid allowed to enter Gaza, limiting aid to a handful of trucks each day following a total 11-week blockade earlier this year. UN officials say the aid delivered into the strip is a drop in the ocean of what is needed. 'We all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay,' Sir Keir said. Mr Lazzarini said a UNRWA worker had described people in Gaza as 'neither dead or alive, they are walking corpses'. He said the agency has the equivalent of 6,000 loaded trucks of food and medical supplies in Jordan and Egypt, which have not yet been allowed into the enclave. 'Families are no longer coping, they are breaking down, unable to survive. Their existence is threatened,' he said. 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Prices continue to rise beyond control and food scarcity has soared to an unprecedented level in the Gaza Strip, in the 21st month of a destructive Israeli invasion and bombardment which Palestinian health officials say has killed more than 60,000 people. The war and invasion began on October 7, 2023 in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and captured at least 250 hostages. Ihab Abdullah, a 43-year-old university lecturer who is the breadwinner for nine family members, said every night before he goes to sleep, he asks: 'How will I provide for my children today? I can bear the hunger, but what about my children?' 'We have become unable to buy or find food in the markets. We live in daily hunger because the most needed commodity, flour, is not available in sufficient quantities. We are in a situation where we can not buy food even if we have money. Those who have money and those who do not have money are the same. 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