21 Jan 2020

Govt focused on climate change mitigation, not climate refugees

From Checkpoint, 5:28 pm on 21 January 2020

The government says it remains focused on mitigating climate change impacts rather than preparing for climate refugees - despite a recent United Nations ruling.

In a landmark ruling, the UN has said that people fleeing immediate danger because of the climate crisis, cannot be forced to return home.

The judgement centres on Kiribati man Ioane Teitiota, who was deported from New Zealand in 2015 after being denied asylum as a 'climate refugee'.

While the UN upheld the decision to deport him, the wording of its ruling appears to open the door to future cases.

RNZ political reporter Yvette McCullough has more.