Jacinda Ardern hits back at Greta Thunberg after she slammed nation’s climate emergency pledge

Jacinda Arden has hit back at criticism from teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg who claims New Zealand’s climate change policies are not ‘unique’.

The Swedish teenager, 17, took aim at a fresh New Zealand pledge to reduce emissions within the pubic sector, which would effect less than one per cent of the country’s carbon footprint. 

‘In other words, the government has just committed to reducing less than 1 per cent of the country’s emissions by 2025 … This is of course nothing unique to any nation,’ she tweeted along an article of Ms Ardern’s announcement. 

But Ms Ardern defended her country’s position and said the one per cent was not a ‘sum ambition’. 

‘If that was the sum ambition of any government, then that would be worthy of criticism; it is not our sum ambition and it is not the totality of our plans on climate change,’ she said.

‘But again, I think that it is actually for us just to get on with the business of fulfilling our obligations and expectations.’  

Ms Ardern said a raft of new measures in 2021, including the country’s first carbon budget and a fresh review of biogenic methane targets, would show her government’s commitment.

‘It’s only a good thing that there are people out there continuing to urge ambition in action,’ she said.

Both Australia and New Zealand were absent from the Climate Ambition Summit held at the weekend by the United Nations, United Kingdom and France.

An invitation didn’t come despite Ms Ardern’s embrace of climate-friendly policies during her tenure as prime minister, including the passage of the Zero Carbon Act last year and a climate emergency declaration last month.