Last week, 170 countries formally signed the agreement to protect the world from dangerous climate change that was agreed in Paris last December. Now all countries, especially the richer nations such as New Zealand, need to take action.

New Zealand government set a target of reducing our emissions by 11% below 1990 levels. An international comparison has shown this to be “inadequate” as a contribution to preventing climate chaos. Already millions of people around the world are suffering from droughts, floods, cyclones and other climate-related disasters, including Fiji which experienced severe damage recently. New Zealand needs to become part of the solution to combat dangerous climate change, rather than continuing to be part of the problem. All countries need to play their part in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement calls on the rich nations with high emissions per person to do more. New Zealand is one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases, at around 17 tonnes per person.

By contrast, India emits around three tonnes per person and 450 million people in India use virtually no fossil fuels. It is encouraging to see the Indian government investing in solar power, but disturbing to see the New Zealand government continuing to support the polluters, for example by giving subsidies to oil and gas producers, rather than encouraging solar energy.

A new report last week showed that the government had allowed polluters to benefit from fraud and corruption in international offsets under the discredited Emissions Trading Scheme.

The Green Party has a plan that would significantly reduce New Zealand’s emissions by far more than the government target. It relies on investment in trains, buses, walking and cycling, financed by less spending on roads; faster growth of solar power and electric vehicles; reduced emissions from farming; and more tree planting to absorb greenhouse gases.

Planting more trees got an endorsement this week by research that shows significant potential benefits for the economy from planting trees on marginal land. Progressive business is coming on board. Sustainability is high on the agenda of many of the world’s leading companies—those that continue polluting will be left behind.

Economic growth and jobs are coming from the clean technology, low emissions companies, and the Green Party would encourage our New Zealand companies to be at the forefront internationally. We need to be part of a cleaner, greener and smarter future. It is good for the climate, but also for our economy.

Barry Coates is establishing a Sustainability Programme at the University of Auckland Business School. He is next on the list of Green Party candidates to get into Parliament.