Government's Exclusion of International Shipping and Aviation from Emissions Targets w/ The University of Otago's Lisa Ellis: 8 December, 2025

Last week, the government announced that they would not be making changes to the way we calculate our emissions targets according to the advice of the Climate Change Commission.

One change that was rejected was the inclusion of international shipping and aviation emissions; the flying and shipping that is so key to New Zealand’s economy, through tourism and elsewhere, is excluded from our emissions targets, despite being a significant chunk of our emissions.

This means, however, that in the face of our Paris Agreement commitments, the Government has opted to keep working with an incomplete picture of our economies emissions.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Philosophy at the University of Otago, Lisa Ellis, about these emissions, and what this rejection means for how we present ourselves and neighbours and a member of the international community.