New Zealand aviation protest at parliament today

Te Whanganui-a-Tara - A rally will be held outside Parliament today to draw attention to greenwashing of the aviation industry, as ministers meet the Airports Authority for their annual briefing.

The aviation sector has adopted similar tactics to maintain their social licence to grow, according to Sustainable Tarras, which is trying to stop a new airport being built in its area.

 By using reported zero emissions aviation (Air New Zealand) and industry accredited climate positive airport status (Christchurch Airport), airlines and airport authorities are investing significantly in greenwashing tactics which distract from their real performance, it says.

As the industry with the highest sector growth in emissions and few signs of achieving even a reduction in absolute emissions in the time of a climate crisis, the group wants the government to:

1. place a moratorium on all new airports and airport expansions until the aviation industry demonstrates a clear path of rapid decarbonisation 

2. urgently ramp up investment in inter-regional public transport, centred around trunk rail routes to reduce high emissions car and plane trips.

Suze Keith of the Sustainable Tarras who will be at the rally says she wants government to halt the development of a greenfield international airport in Tarras, Central Otago.

“Government is invested in both airports and our national airline, and as we experience a climate crisis, we cannot reconcile the expansion of the aviation industry with New Zealand's stated goal of 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030,- less than seven years away. 

“Aviation emissions from CO2 account for 12 percent of all our CO2 emissions and if we incorporate other harmful airplane emissions, this could double its warming impact". 

She says New Zealand is ranked sixth in the world for aviation emissions and there is no excise tax on jet fuel.  International flights are not subject to GST or the ETS and are not in the carbon budgets.