Student goes to court to challenge NZ climate targets

A law student is taking the New Zealand government to court over its “inadequate” greenhouse reduction targets, claiming they fail to tackle climate change.

Waikato University student Sarah Thomson is seeking a judicial review of emissions targets set by the government as part of the Paris climate agreement in 2015.

Speaking outside the High Court in Wellington on 26 June, Thomson said the legal challenge was “a last line of defence” to force the government to take stronger action on climate change mitigation.