Greenpeace Aotearoa is condemning the Government’s suggestion that further military spending is an appropriate response to the threat of the climate crisis after Minister Andrew Little today released a high-level document naming climate change as one of the key security threats the nation faces.

Greenpeace spokesperson Christine Rose says "While it is clear that the climate crisis poses a significant threat to everyone’s security and wellbeing, and even more so in the Pacific, the best response is to rapidly cut climate pollution, not to increase funding to the military."

"The military is a significant emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in its own right, and there are far better uses of public funds.

"That funding could better be used to support farmers to transition away from the intensive dairy industry - New Zealand’s biggest polluter - to low-emissions, ecological farming that works with nature."

"This is yet another example of the Labour Government failing to take the climate crisis seriously. This must be a climate election where all political parties prioritise investment in real climate solutions.

"Unless we cut climate pollution now, the climate crisis will only get worse, and so will the threat it poses to national security. Investment in measures to cut climate pollution will do much more to keep us safe than an increase in military spending."

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