2nd May 2024
At the ‘Outgrowing the System’ discussion panel, members of Climate Liberation Aotearoa will hold Ali Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Christchurch NZ, to account by attending with banners, pamphlets, and asking the hard questions.
Climate Liberation Aotearoa supports Christchurch NZ wanting to ‘Outgrow the System’. We admire their ambitious goal to transform Christchurch’s economy: “based on…shifting to a regenerative economy – where more carbon is eliminated than produced” ( https://www.christchurchnz.com/live/our-vision ).
“We question how supporting the cruise ship industry fits into this goal. Going on a cruise is perhaps the most destructive way to take a holiday.” said spokesperson Ivan Andrews.
Holidays on a Cruise Ship create about four times as much carbon as flying and staying in a hotel. By supporting the cruise ship industry Christchurch NZ undermines its goal of transitioning to a carbon-negative economy.
Christchurch NZ has been a sponsor of the Cruise Ship Association Conference and is currently funding training and support for the Cruise City Champions, a program in which volunteers welcome cruise passengers. These subsidies are destructive and need to stop. We want all of these volunteers to be made fully aware of the damage that cruise ships are doing as part of their training so that they can make informed decisions about whether to participate in the program on cruise days.
Christchurch City Council counts the emissions from cruise ships in its emissions targets, possibly the first council in New Zealand to do so. We call on Christchurch NZ to publicly support this and to join us in requesting that the government include emissions from international shipping and aviation in our emissions budgets and emissions reduction plan.