Sunday Panel: What's next after climate emergency declaration?

Parliament has officially declared a climate emergency in New Zealand – a move Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called an "acknowledgement of the next generation".It was a "declaration based on science," she told MPs in the House before the vote earlier this week.After she moved the motion – which was opposed by National and Act, but supported by the Greens and the Māori Party – Ardern announced a suite of new measures in a bid to curb climate change.The Government now requires all its agencies and ministries to exclusively buy electric vehicles and will mandate all public sector buildings to be up to a "green standard".This is part of the Government's goal to make the entire public sector carbon neutral by 2025."It is up to us to make sure we demonstrate a plan for action, and a reason for hope," Ardern said – she was the one who move the motion in the House.She had previously said that simply declaring a climate emergency on its own wasn't enough and it needed to be backed up with substance.Questions are now being asked about what needs to be done by the Government to make this declaration meaningful - and what Kiwis can do themselves to lower emissions.One method is through a new banking app created by the company COGO, that uses transaction data to estimate someone's carbon footprint, and then suggests ways to lower it.The app's Kiwi founder Ben Gleisner told Francesca Rudkin the majority of people don't understand how much of an impact their spending has on the planet."People are now going 'wow, I didn't realise this sort of information' and it helps you make more informed choices."Listen above as Simon Wilson and Lorna Subritzky discuss these topics and more on The Sunday Panel with Francesca RudkinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.