judgment

Movement v. Waka Kotahi - judgment

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

decision

Movement v. Waka Kotahi - decision

Filing Year For Action

Movement is a charitable trust which advocates for safe, accessible and sustainable transport. Waka Kotahi | New Zealand Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) is New Zealand’s national transport agency. Movement sought judicial review of the decision by Waka Kotahi to approve the National Land Transport Programme 2021-2024 (NLTP21). The NTLP21 is governed by the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA). 

In the High Court, Movement argued that Waka Kotahi had failed to assess and consider various matters relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the consequence being that its decision to approve the NLTP was unlawful. Specifically, Movement argued that in preparing and adopting the NLTP21, Waka Kotahi failed to meet the requirements under the LTMA to ensure that the NLTP (1) contributes to the purpose of the LTMA; and (2) “gives effect” to the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021 (GPS21) which includes climate change as a strategic priority. Movement also said that in preparing and approving the NLTP21 Waka Kotahi failed to properly assess, and therefore ensure, that the investments proposed in the NLTP21 would achieve the required reduction in carbon emissions. 

On March 1 2023, the High Court released its decision, dismissing the application for judicial review. This was largely on the basis that Grice J found that the purpose of the LTMA did not include emissions reduction, and further, that Waka Kotahi had prepared the NLTP21 with appropriate reference to the climate change priority in the GPS21. The Court found that while “climate change is an important issue for the land transport sector and Movement represents members of the public who are concerned that not enough is being done to address climate change…[however] the Court’s role in this judicial review is limited to ensuring that Waka Kotahi has exercised its decision making in the preparation and approval of the NLTP to ensure that it contributes to the purposes of the LTMA and gives effect to the GPS on land transport” ([262] - [263]). The Court held that climate change considerations were not a specified purpose of the LTMA, and while the GPS21 includes climate change as a strategic priority, it also includes safety, better travel options and improving freight connections for economic development, with no strategic priority taking primacy ([264]). Grice J held that the NLTP activities were assessed as contributing to the short- to medium-term results of reducing transport sector GHG emissions, and the qualitative assessments undertaken by Waka Kotahi met its requirements under the LTMA and GPS21. Waka Kotahi was not required under either the LTMA or GPS21 to undertake a quantitative measurement of land transport GHG emissions ([265] - [266]). 

Waka Kotahi sought costs against Movement, and on 17 April 2023 costs were granted against Movement. In considering whether the case was brought in the public interest, and as such costs should be reduced or refused (High Court Rules, Rule 14.7(e)), the High Court noted the decision in Lawyers for Climate Action NZ v Climate Change Commission, where Mallon J had warned that while climate change will be an important factor for this assessment, not every case involving climate change will justify a reduction in costs where the applicant is unsuccessful ([48]). In this case, Grice J found that the balance in this case favours the granting of costs, in particular because the relevant legal framework had already been considered by the Court, as had the interpretation of the GPS21 albeit in a different context ([49]).  

On 31 March 2025 the Court of Appeal released its decision. In particular, a new Government Policy Statement took effect from 1 July 2024 (GPS24), which does not make transport emissions reduction a strategic priority, and contains no direction or guidance to Waka Kotahi in relation to achieving reductions ([70]). Due to this change in the factual matrix, the Court found that the majority of the appeal had been rendered moot. In terms of the substantive appeal, Movement argued that mitigating climate change is encompassed within the LTMA’s s 3 purpose of contributing to a “safe land transport system in the public interest” and by dint of s 67 of the LTMA, the Minister must be satisfied any GPS “contributes” to that purpose when preparing or reviewing it (including the GPS21) ([78] - [79]). The Court of Appeal held that s 3, and the “public interest” aspect meant that it did not agree that climate change considerations are irrelevant in giving effect to the purpose statement. Instead, the Crown’s allocation of land transport funding may reflect its desire to achieve an effective, efficient and safe transport system in the public interest that includes (as required by the GPS21 and NLTP21) taking account of the Government’s climate change objectives and commitments - but the s 3 purpose does not of itself require that outcome ([92]). Ultimately, the Court either as a matter of mootness or substance (or both) found against Movement on all agreed issues, with no material error in the decision under appeal being identified ([109]). 

Movement v. Waka Kotahi

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Actions to adapt and increase the resilience of rural and urban infrastructure and settlements to climate change.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Movement v. Waka Kotahi - judgment

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance