Editorial: Time we all clean up our act, before we’re forced to

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Iwi call a rāhui beside the Waitematā, much of which is off-limits to swimmers and anglers.

EDITORIAL

In a world where memes and disinformation spread like wildfire, nuanced conflicts are often condensed into binary good-versus-evil debates.

We may disagree on who to vote for or how to interpret overseas conflicts, but apart from a few denialist dinosaurs, there’s broad agreement on the need to tackle climate change.

And we can all agree on the benefits of having swimmable rivers, clean beaches and thriving marine environments. Access to these is perhaps the closest thing we have to a birthright.

Yet while summer approaches and politicians negotiate behind closed doors, the goal of swimmable rivers nationwide remains elusive, and a string of beaches in the country’s biggest city are effectively off-limits.

From Point Chevalier to Mission Bay, the water is nice to look at, but not to touch. Land Air Water Aotearoa (Lawa) also lists numerous Canterbury beaches as being unsuitable for swimming due to long-term water quality results.

So who should take the lead on cleaning up our environment?

Frequently, the private sector is leading the charge. Even if domestic customers don’t demand more ambitious emissions or environmental targets, suppliers, overseas customers and financial institutions increasingly are.

As our Sustainable Business coverage this week shows, many companies are paying more than lip service or indulging in the hollow virtue-signalling of greenwashing.

Accredited greenhouse emissions programme Toitū Envirocare has said a business’ sustainability story cannot revolve around cutting emissions if it has a dreadful attitude towards other environmental issues.

Fonterra, whose dairy farmers have long been pushed to clean up their act, has committed to a 30 per cent intensity reduction in on-farm emissions by 2030.

Its chairman Peter McBride warned an annual shareholders’ meeting that without meaningful emissions cuts, major export markets could lock New Zealand out.

And dairy farmers’ access to future bank funding will depend on their plans to lower emissions on the farm.

Global food giant Nestle has pledged to provide technical support, and pay a premium to farmers who reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The argument that New Zealand is too small to make a difference to climate change is at best misguided, if not disingenuous rhetorical mischief.

It is preposterous to build an economy on finite resources such as fossil fuels. Recent armed conflicts remind us it is also geopolitical insanity to keep relying on imported fuel, especially with the Marsden Point oil refinery decommissioned.

Much has already been achieved - and New Zealand can be proud of its renewable energy successes. While there may be tinkering around policies advancing alternative energy, the renewable power revolution can be inclusive, clever and clean.

The typical Kiwi home of the near-future will be insulated, smartly designed to use solar passive techniques, and generate much of its own power.

A cleaner environment will also be crucial for luring the migrants we need and giving New Zealanders the lifestyle they have long dreamed of.

Our people will constantly be tempted by better wages across the Tasman - and there’s little we can do about that. But there is much we can do to protect our environment.

Where else in the world can so many residents of an industrialised economy potentially live within reach of so many clean and beautiful beaches, mountains, rivers and lakes?

While New Zealand waits on a new government, and local authorities struggle to handle wastewater problems, the private sector and civil society are increasingly getting on with the things that matter.