Informed debate: We trust the science

30 September 2022

We’ve been made aware that a local government candidate is circulating election material that misrepresents our position on something important. We want to clarify this.

The election material claims that the Commission has "admitted it has no evidence that CO2 causes dangerous global warming and it relies entirely on 'the consensus of climate scientists'."

To be absolutely clear:

We base our assessment of the causes and impacts of climate change on the established peer-reviewed scientific literature, and the consensus of the world’s scientific community.

The process of reaching any scientific consensus rests on hypotheses and theories that are continually updated as new evidence is reviewed and incorporated – with any uncertainty around the conclusions being refined accordingly.

On the basis of this process, the consensus of the world’s climate scientists is that the Earth is warming and humans are primarily responsible. The Commission is satisfied that the body of evidence for this is clear and unequivocal.

While we welcome informed debate about how best to address climate change, we don’t – and won’t – debate its existence.

Instead, our work is focused on helping to find Aotearoa New Zealand's path to a thriving, climate-resilient future.

Thank you to all of the concerned members of the public who raised this with us – we’re glad you believe in informed debate too.