Jacinda Ardern Is Set To Announce A Climate Emergency Next Week
Asked to react to the news, Green MP Chloe Swarbrick said only, "yeah boi."
Jacinda Ardern, hot off the heels of a resounding victory in the 2020 New Zealand election, is set to announce a climate emergency next week.
Describing climate change as an issue that must have “immediate” action taken upon it for the sake of future human survival, Ardern will personally introduce the motion to the Parliament.
As for the timing of this historic move, many believe that the Prime Minister has only been able to introduce the motion now, post-election, as it had previously been blocked by New Zealand First, the Labor Party’s coalition ally. Though Ardern has been pushed on whether or not New Zealand First were indeed the naysayers, she has declined to comment.
Breaking: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to move a motion to declare a climate change emergency next week.
As it's a Government motion, it's highly likely to pass when it's debated on Tuesday.
When asked for her reaction, Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick told the Herald: 'Yeah boi'.
— Jason Walls (@Jasonwalls92) November 25, 2020
“As stated during the election campaign, the Prime Minister will introduce a Government Motion to declare a climate emergency next Wednesday,” a spokesperson for Jacinda Ardern has said.
Asked to react to the news, Greens MP Chloe Swarbrick, who was elected this year as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, responded, appropriately, with, “yeah boi.”
Announcing a climate emergency would largely be a symbolic gesture, rather than a move to push specific legislation. But it would indicate the government’s openness to really tackling those industries and corporations that are killing the planet. And given how quickly time is running out to reverse environmental collapse, that openness is sure to be warmly received.