In New Zealand, Increasingly Severe Crackdowns on Environmental Protesters Fail to Deter Climate Activists

By Emma Ricketts

On a Tuesday morning in late August, Rosemary Penwarden protested climate inaction in New Zealand. She sat down during rush hour traffic on the main road linking Wellington Airport to the capital’s city center. Joined by two other protesters from the climate action group Restore Passenger Rail, Penwarden was hoping to draw people’s attention to the climate crisis and the need to expand public transportation networks around the country.