Ask 20-year-olds, not Winston Peters, if we can afford to exit the Paris climate agreement

PremiumOpinionOpinion byDr Jen PurdieNZ Herald·17 Jun, 2026 01:00 AM5 mins to readDr Jen Purdie is a senior research fellow at the University of Otago’s centre for sustainability research . Her research interests include climate change impacts on the energy system, and climate forecasting on a range of timescales.Winston Peters called the Paris climate deal 'fiction' at Fieldays.

Photo / Anna Heath. THE FACTSNew Zealand signed the Paris Agreement in 2016, committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Nearly half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture.New Zealand’s Paris Agreement targets include reducing methane by 10% by 2030 and by 24%-47% by 2050.Winston Peters recently declared at Fieldays that the Paris climate agreement is a “fiction” New Zealand “can’t afford”.

His stance was explored in a recent Herald editorial as a sign the NZ First leader is now in full campaign mode, seeking to distance himself from his coalition