A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program 

Over 40,000 Protest for Maori Rights in New Zealand (Al Jazeera) 

Earlier this month, the libertarian ACT New Zealand party introduced the Treaty Principles Bill in that nation’s legislature. The controversial measure seeks to reinterpret the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi—a foundational document that granted Maori tribes broad land rights in return for ceding governance to the British. The treaty’s historical value remains significant to this day, and it is a contemporary reminder of the colonial injustices faced by the country’s native tribes.

ACT’s bill seeks to assert that the Crown has a right to govern New Zealand, thus backtracking on centuries of progress on Indigenous rights to self-governance. It also seeks to flatten the country’s demographic diversity by calling all people “New Zealanders.” This is more than semantics: the measure would limit or reduce the rights of Indigenous peoples such as the Maori people, who account for 20% of the country’s population.  

The proposed legislation sparked one of the largest protests in New Zealand’s recent history, with 42,000 people demonstrating against the Treaty Principles Bill. A rising level of concern about the measure has led the Maori King to convene leaders to discuss how their own interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi can be upheld to protect Maori rights. While opposition from other parties means ACT’s legislation won’t be passed, the debate itself has polarized the country’s population.  

Listen | Indigenous and Community Power: Localizing Climate Action 

Vatican Renounces References to “Gender” in Climate Deal (BBC) 

The first Lima Work Program on Gender (LWPG) was established during COP19—and a number of extensions since that time have ensured that the LWPG continues to advance gender balance both in the COP and in the secretariat that implements the Paris Agreement. One key aim of LWPG programming is to make certain that climate action and policymaking are gender-inclusive.  

During this month’s COP29, however, this long-established climate deal has received unexpected backlash from the Vatican—which has special permanent observer status at the United Nations. Through an alignment with other conservative governments, the Vatican has blocked the reference to gender in the LWPG. Citing confusion over the evolved meaning of that term, the Vatican has opposed the inclusion of transgender and gay women in the deal, aligning itself with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt. 

Research has demonstrated that women bear the brunt of the climate crisis, due both to disproportionate labor norms as well as extreme weather events (like heat), which affect reproductive health issues. At present, the UNDP has a staggering financing gap in gender-related climate programming; only 0.01% of funding globally finds its way to climate action projects that also account for women. Aid charities are in shock over this development and are raising concerns that the Vatican’s disapproval could jeopardize the deal as COP29 nears its conclusion.  

READ | New Security Brief | Pioneering Solutions: Climate Finance, Gender Equity, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services 

G20 Focuses on Climate and Conflicts (DW) 

While ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia dominated the G20 summit, held this week in Brazil, climate change was also on the agenda. Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged the G20 members (which account for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions) to accelerate their national climate targets, calling for them to reach net zero targets 5-10 years ahead of schedule. Lula also proposed establishing a new council at the United Nations focused on accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement. 

The dialogues also focused renewed attention on the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis and how extreme weather events exacerbate poverty—including momentum for a “global tax on the ultra-rich” to address the climate funding deficit. The proposal is founded upon the fact that funds raised from taxing the rich on a small amount of their total income (roughly, 0.3% of their wealth) can generate up to $250 million worldwide that might be redirected to address global inequities and climate change. 

Every member state has signed Brazil’s G20 declaration, including Argentina’s libertarian leader, President Javier Milei. (Yet Milei did later issue a statement rejecting several parts of the document.)  

READ | The 2024 Emissions Gap Report: A Clarion Call for Mandatory Commitments?