95bFM ‘Nature is wealth’ — The impact of New Zealand’s indecision on global climate action
28 August, 2025
Interview and article by Sara Mckoy
A Ministry for the Environment briefing written for the central government warns of the likely negative impact of New Zealand’s climate failings on our diplomatic relations; however, the University of Auckland’s Maria Armoudian says the consequences will be even more vast.
A secret memo by the Ministry for the Environment intended for the government reveals advice on how climate inaction could be detrimental for New Zealand on a global stage.
The warning stated that, as New Zealand delays decisions and action on our commitments under the Paris Agreement, we may risk undermining our key alliances with countries like Australia, Canada, the UK and countries in Europe.
The director of the Centre for Climate Biodiversity and Society at the University of Auckland, Maria Armoudian, told 95bFM’s Green Desk that the effects of the country’s inaction will be consequential for more than just diplomatic relationships.
“There are life-threatening consequences across a wide number of metrics squarely being placed at the feet of our global leaders, not just New Zealand, but across many countries that are not taking this seriously.”
Earlier this year, the United States, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, withdrew their commitments to global climate action through the Paris Agreement and is seeking to reject the legal claim that greenhouse gas emissions have negative consequences to human health.
In New Zealand, the central government recently reversed the law on the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration projects, despite opposition from environmental advocates and opposition parties.
According to Armoudian, the most urgent concern of the global trend of stalled action and withdrawn commitments will be the effect on our Pacific neighbours. Rising sea levels and increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters like tropical cyclones threaten the livelihoods of Pacific Islands.
She says climate inaction will impact not only our environment, but our food supplies, our health, the spread of diseases, the frequency of natural disasters, and the cost of insurance.
“We are going backwards, both in New Zealand and other countries.
“We're stuck in this kind of short-term thinking that is kicking the can down the road, which is creating life-threatening, nation-threatening, economy-threatening consequences.”
While Armoudian recognised that New Zealand’s military and economic capacity to effect change on a global scale may be limited, she highlights the importance of “soft power”, wherein she believes we hold the moral responsibility to champion climate leadership.
“[Soft power] is a form of public diplomacy that we do have, and we can live by example.
“We could be a leader; we could really be able to articulate a pathway forward rather than following the lead of a nation or two that are going backwards.”
Armoudian says shifting our priority from economic growth to sustainable development is an essential step forward in the path toward taking our climate commitments seriously.
She asserts that the cost of acting when it is too late will outweigh the benefits of any short-term economic gains.
“To me, nature is wealth; it is the bank from which we are borrowing…
“I think we have some debts to repay there. I think we should think about those very definitions that underpin decisions that our government is making.”
