Wai 3325 is a kaupapa priority inquiry of the Waitangi Tribunal, looking into whether the Crown’s response to climate change is consistent with the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal can provide non-binding recommendations to the New Zealand Government. 

The inquiry is focused on four overarching issues:
(1) What are the physical, spiritual, cultural, social, health, and economic impacts of climate change on Māori? This includes current and future impacts. 
(2) What relevant Tiriti/Treaty principles should the Crown consider when addressing the impacts of climate change on Māori? 
(3) Has the Crown’s conduct (including actions and omissions) in response to climate change been consistent with Tiriti/Treaty principles? 
(4) What recommendations should the Tribunal make in terms of how the Crown should conduct itself consistently with Tiriti/Treaty principles when forming future climate change policies? 

Claims include alleged breaches of Te Tiriti/the Treaty relating to a wide range of climate policy and decisions, including forestry, adaptation, and New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme. A broad cross-section of Māori interests are involved, including whānau, hapū, iwi, business, and advocacy groups.

<Wai 2607>
On 1 June 2016, the Waitangi Tribunal received an application from Cletus Maanu Paul, David Potter, and Andrew Peterson on behalf of the Mataatua District Maori Council (MDMC) alleging that the Crown is acting in breach of Treaty obligations towards Maori because the New Zealand Government was failing to implement adequate policies to address the threats posed by global climate change. The claim alleged that the Crown has continued to breach its obligations of active protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi towards Māori by failing to put in place policies that would satisfy New Zealand’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, and that the steps the Crown had taken, such as establishing an emissions trading scheme, were ineffective and insufficient. 

The claim was declined on the basis that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) policies and targets were subject to ongoing processes in which Māori would continue to have a role, and the Crown was still developing its domestic policies on climate matters. The application was dismissed. 

In 2019, the Wai 2607 applicants applied to have their claim heard as a priority on the basis that there would be a significant delay in hearing the claim, which would cause irreversible prejudice to Māori, as the Natural Resources and Environmental Management kaupapa inquiry was grouped eleventh in priority for hearing. At that time, the former Chairperson noted that the Tribunal was barred from inquiring into the matters as the matters raised in the statement of claim were the subject of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Bill, which was currently before the House. 

Renewed request for a prioritised inquiry within the kaupapa inquiry programme - Wai 2607
In February 2023, the Waitangi Tribunal received a renewed application for priority by the Wai 2607 applicant in relation to the Crown’s past and present climate change policies and the ETS. 

The Wai 2607 applicants contended that the criteria for priority had been satisfied, as climate change is increasingly impacting Māori and all of Aotearoa, as demonstrated by recent extreme storms and flooding that had impacted large parts of Aotearoa New Zealand. Further, climate change continues to have an impact on Māori businesses, including agricultural, horticultural and fisheries industries. 

<Urgent Inquiry Application - Wai 3262>
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 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. For more on the case, please refer to "Wai 3262: Climate Justic Taranaki v New Zealand."

<Decision on claim progressing - Wai 3325>
After the kaupapa inquiry was granted, on February 15, 2024, it was directed that this would be a new record of inquiry, referred to as ‘the Climate Change Priority Inquiry’, with reference number ‘Wai 3325.’ Wai 3325 is ongoing. 

Note: All case documents relating to Wai 3325 are publicly available at:  https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/en/inquiries/kaupapa-inquiries/climate-change-priority-inquiry. 

Wai 3325: Climate Change Priority Inquiry

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Wai 3325: Climate Change Priority Inquiry - petition

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New Zealand

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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.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

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

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.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

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.

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

A company that is owned wholly or partially by the state, typically operating in key sectors.

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

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

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.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

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

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

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

Replacing technologies that burn fossil fuels directly with alternatives powered by electricity.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

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.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

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.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

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

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

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.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Wai 3325: Climate Change Priority Inquiry - petition

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance