95bFM Concerns regarding New Zealand’s absent signature from COP30 agreement to phase out fossil fuels
9 December, 2025
Interview by Joel Armstrong, adapted by Lois Gonzales
The University of Otago’s Sebastian Gehreke says that despite already promising to “transition away” from fossil fuels, which is the reason behind New Zealand’s absent signature at COP30, the government still needs to deliver policies with the climate crisis in mind.
Last month, COP30 was held in Belém, Brazil, aiming to address the climate crisis across different sectors and attracting international delegates.
During the conference, over 80 countries, including the United Kingdom and several Pacific nations signed an agreement to develop a plan to phase out fossil fuels.
Despite this, New Zealand was not among these signatories.
Climate Minister Simon Watts has defended this decision, saying New Zealand already made a commitment to “transition away” from fossil fuels two years ago.
Despite Watts’ claims, Sebastian Gehreke, a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group at the University of Otago, told 95bFM’s The Wire that the government’s actions do not align with this commitment.
“Even though they have stated many times they are committed to the climate change transition or to increase renewable energy. The actions are not really going in that direction.”
Kiribati, Fiji, and other neighbouring Pacific countries also signed the COP30 agreement.
Gehreke believes that New Zealand’s responsibility over its Pacific neighbours should also be a reason to support this climate agreement and work on policies that mitigate the climate crisis.
Gehreke argues that certain domestic policies are counterproductive to this commitment to phasing out fossil fuels, such as by cutting down the New Zealand Green Investment Fund, cutting EV subsidies, and allowing less companies to report on climate-related risks.
“We want our country and the globe to transition, to decarbonise, to come off our dependency of fossil fuels and avoid the worst of the climate change effects. But our current government seems to be going the other way,” he says.
Gehreke says New Zealand’s cumulative emissions reveal that the country is a primary emitter globally. When compared to larger countries like China and the United States, New Zealand’s annual emissions hides its faulty environmental policies.
“New Zealand historically has one of the top, if not the top emissions per person in the world. We have a huge responsibility.”
Gehreke says that amidst policies slowing down the transition to a fossil-free future, the government has a lot of pressure to act on its promises.
“What we really need is action and a huge lever for that is policy change.”
Gehreke stresses that there is still a lot of work to be done outside of the agreements we sign and promises we make, especially when it comes to the climate crisis.
