Judicial Review - Supreme Court declines appeal application

22 December 2025

The Supreme Court has declined the application from Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand (LCANZI) to appeal the Court of Appeal decision on the judicial review of the Commission’s advice on the first emissions reduction plan and emissions budgets.

Justice Mallon found in the Commission's favour on all grounds in the judicial review, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, and now the Supreme Court have declined any further appeal on this matter.  

We have stood by our advice throughout the court process and have maintained that claims we are not sufficiently ambitious are wrong and misrepresent our advice. 

We have recognised throughout this process that the intent of the proceedings is to ensure Aotearoa is taking action to address climate change, and these proceedings have highlighted the Commission’s important role in ensuring Aotearoa does so.  

We understand the importance of the judicial review process in a healthy democracy. As a Crown entity, we expect our work to be robustly assessed in accordance with the appropriate legal standards. This advice has been thoroughly examined by all levels of the judiciary. The Court found that our advice was lawful, well-supported, and sufficiently ambitious to achieve Aotearoa’s emissions reduction goals as set out in the Climate Change Response Act. 

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