New Zealand has become the first country to withdraw from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), a global group of governments dedicated to transitioning to cleaner energy. This decision, announced by Climate Minister Simon Watts, confirms the current New Zealand coalition government’s pivot towards embracing fossil fuels.
Since coming into power in November 2023, Prime Minister Chris Luxon’s government has rolled back previous environmental policies. This includes overturning a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, originally put in place by the Jacinda Ardern government, and fast-tracking mining projects, even for coal.
Mr. Watts explained that these actions made New Zealand’s continued membership in BOGA inappropriate.
“The New Zealand government made the decision to withdraw, in good faith, our associate membership, and informed the alliance of this decision on 21 June, 2025,” he stated.
New Zealand initially joined BOGA in late 2021 at COP26, the UN climate conference in Glasgow, after being invited by co-founders Costa Rica and Denmark. Internal government documents at the time suggested that joining would be a “useful vehicle for advancing effective global climate action” and noted that it “does not involve binding legal commitments.”
The move has drawn sharp criticism from environmental groups.
Amanda Larson, a spokesperson for Greenpeace Aotearoa (New Zealand), condemned the government’s support for both mining and “intensive livestock” agriculture, which she said were “two of the world’s most polluting industries.”
Ms. Larson also highlighted recent international scrutiny, pointing out that New Zealand’s government was criticized by the Financial Times in May for accounting practices that downplay the impact of methane emissions from agriculture.
“It is the first time in Luxon’s political or business career that he has made the front page of the Financial Times, and it was humiliating. He should expect more international criticism to come,” Ms. Larson added.
New Zealand held an associate membership in BOGA, alongside California and Belize, but has now been removed from the alliance’s website.
Resources Minister Shane Jones dismissed BOGA as “an indulgent, vanity-belief community.”
Source: Australian Associated Press (AAP)
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