Wai 3262: Climate Justice Taranaki v New Zealand

On 13 March 2023, the Tribunal received a statement of claim for an urgent hearing by Emily Bailey on behalf of Climate Justice Taranaki (Wai 3262). The applicant submitted that climate change presents an emergency for Māori communities, which are disproportionately affected by climate change, and alleged that the Crown’s actions to address climate change through general policies, the Climate Change Response Act 2002 and the ETS are likely to cause significant prejudice to Māori. The Tribunal received memoranda and statements of claim in support of these applications. On 9 February 2024, the Deputy Chairperson Judge Sarah Reeves of the Tribunal issued a decision on the Urgent Inquiry Application and Priority Inquiry. The Tribunal found that the Wai 3262 application did not, at that stage, meet the requirements for granting an urgent inquiry. However, the Tribunal granted a kaupapa inquiry into climate change policy, in light of climate change being an existential threat not only to the claimants but to Māori and the nation. The Tribunal stated that the scope of the priority inquiry should "focus on the relevant Treaty principles to be considered in climate change policy and recommendations for how the Crown should meaningfully engage and consult with Māori”. Refer to Wai 3325.