Our Advocacy
Since its inception in 2018, the Climate Leaders Coalition has advocated for cross-party support for policies and investments that enable Aotearoa’s transition to a zero carbon and climate resilient economy.
Becoming a Climate Leaders Coalition signatory offers businesses the opportunity to influence key climate-related government decisions, budgets and pieces of legislation, ensuring their voices are heard at the highest level.
Alongside the Sustainable Business Council, we advocate on behalf of our 160+ collective members to government ministries and agencies, providing a clear, consistent and reputable voice for businesses taking climate action.
Through advocacy, our signatories have influenced:
- Bipartisan support for Zero Carbon legislation, introduction of the Climate Change Commission and emissions budgets enshrined in law.
- Bipartisan support for New Zealand’s first emissions budgets.
- The Government’s first Emissions Reduction Plan, with 12 of 14 key signatory priorities included.
The Coalition continues to advocate for an effective and enduring National Adaptation Plan, and to ensure effective, bipartisan climate policies provide the certainty and confidence businesses and communities need to invest and transform regardless of who is in government.
2023 Election Priorities
Ahead of the October 2023 General Election, we consulted with SBC members and CLC signatories to develop a pre-election briefing paper outlining our collective climate policy priorities. The briefing paper sets out 10 key recommendations for the incoming government to advance a net-zero and climate-resilient future.
The top five recommendations include measures to:
- Maintain and uphold the climate change response architecture;
- Accelerate action on climate adaptation while reducing emissions;
- Accelerate transport decarbonisation in both the light and freight fleets;
- Increase investment in infrastructure for decarbonisation and electrification; and
- Maintain momentum to reduce agriculture emissions.
