The first of several Restore Passenger Rail [1] jury trials begins this morning on Wednesday, February 26th in the Wellington District Court. Five supporters of Restore Passenger Rail (now Climate Liberation Aotearoa [2]) are on trial, as meanwhile the climate crisis rages on.

In 2020, the government declared a Climate Emergency, and yet Aotearoa New Zealand remained a low performer in its Climate Change Performance Index. Emissions from fossil fuel burning across agriculture, transport, and production industries mean that the country is not on track to meet its international climate obligations or its 2050 emissions reduction target [3].

“Despite New Zealand’s ‘very low’ [4] performance in greenhouse gas emissions, no one with power will do anything to change it,” said spokesperson Rosemary Penwarden. “We need to stop pretending that our approach to climate change is adequate to create a livable planet for future generations

“Business as usual is killing us. The pursuit of economic growth at any cost is destroying our chances of survival. To disrupt the exponential descent into climate catastrophe, we must disrupt business as usual.”

Transport is estimated to be responsible for two thirds of the harm caused by human-made air pollution [5]. 70% of all transport emissions are produced by cars [6].

“An affordable, nationwide passenger rail service would significantly cut our emissions, while providing an accessible transport option for all Kiwis. To achieve this we must disrupt the pretense that we can maintain our current carbon emissions and have a livable future.

“Two and a half years ago these five climate defenders sounded the alarm. Today their message is more compelling, more prescient, more dire than ever.”

Notes:

[1] https://restorepassengerrail.nz

[2] https://climateliberationaotearoa.org

[3] https://ccpi.org/country/nzl/

[4] https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/environment-and-climate-change/clean-cars

[5] https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/environment-and-climate-change/reducing-noxious-vehicle-emissions-from-road-transport#:\~:text=Each%20year%20in%20New%20Zealand,cases%20of%20childhood%20asthma%2C%20and

[6] https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/environment-and-climate-change/clean-cars

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