Climate Justice Taranaki Inc v Taranaki Regional Council

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Environment Court of New Zealand

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

18/11/2019

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Gas / Oil

REVIEW TYPE

N/A

SUMMARY

The Court considered preliminary questions about the relevance of climate change to the assessment of the proposed rules and proposed coastal plan for Taranaki. Proposed rules dealt with the drilling of wells and the construction of petroleum installations. The Court held that local authorities were prohibited in legislation from having regard to the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change. It concluded that “Parliament’s policy is clear. It is for the Parliament to regulate the effects of activities on climate change, not this Court.”

CASE DOCUMENTS

Climate Justice Taranaki Inc v Taranaki Regional Council [2022] NZEnvC 127