Climate Change Litigation in New Zealand

The most notable climate change litigation in New Zealand to date is the case of Thomson v Minister for Climate Change Issues. Law student Ellen Thomson filed proceedings in the High Court in 2015, receiving in 2017 a ruling that the Government had been obliged to consider whether its previous greenhouse gas emissions reduction target needed resetting in light of the release of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. Further climate change litigation of importance and interest includes the Wai 2607 claim brought before the Waitangi Tribunal by the Mataatua Māori District Council. The claim asserts that in the light of the potential effects of climate change on Māori the Government must take action to fulfil its responsibilities to Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. A change of government in New Zealand in the 2017 Parliamentary elections looks set to result in greater action on climate change than previously, changing the landscape for potential future climate change litigation.