New Zealand Mulls Law Prohibiting Civil Lawsuits Against Polluting Companies

Greenpeace slammed the proposal as a “shocking abuse of executive power to help corporate polluters.”

—

Polluting companies may soon be shielded from civil lawsuits in New Zealand, where the government is planning legislation to retrospectively ban private citizens and organizations from suing businesses for their climate-damaging emissions.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced the plan on Tuesday, citing ongoing civil cliams brought by climate campaigner Mike Smith against seven high-emitting New Zealand agriculture and energy companies. Smith’s case, which is due to be heard in the High Court next year, alleges that the companies’ emissions contribute to climate change and create a public nuisance for him and others.

Goldsmith said the case “is creating uncertainty in business confidence and investment that the Government must address,” as he proposed a plan to amend the 2002 Climate Change Reponse Act. The amendment, he continued, would “prevent filings of liability for tort for climate change damage, or harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions, in both current and future proceedings before the court,” ensuring that the response to climate change is managed solely by the government and allowing businesses to continue attracting overseas investment and stimulating economic growth.

New Zealand’s center-right government has significantly reversed previous climate policies including oil and gas bans, cut climate funding, and rolled back environmental protections. It has also been criticized for “loosening the leash for corporate profits.”

In a statement, Greens Co-Leader and Climate Change spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick accused the government of protecting major polluters from being held accountable. “They’ve spent two and a half years taking a wrecking ball to climate laws and, at the eleventh hour, they’re now ripping away New Zealanders’ and the courts’ ability to do what this Government lacks the spine to do,” she said.

“While New Zealanders are demanding affordable power bills and decent jobs, [Christopher] Luxon’s Government has decided to prioritise protecting big polluters’ profits in the limited parliamentary time before the election. That tells us everything we need to know about who they work for. It’s the corporations ripping us off and destroying the ecosystems necessary for life as we know it,” Swarbrick added.

Greenpeace also slammed the proposal as a “shocking abuse of executive power to help corporate polluters.” In a statement, Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop said the law would have a “chilling effect on democracy” and “set a dangerous precedent.”

“Mike Smith’s case is a groundbreaking effort to hold some of New Zealand’s biggest polluters accountable for the harm they are causing. But this Government is stepping in to protect corporate profits at the expense of people, nature and future generations,” Toop added.