11 December 2011

Government must fundamentally change climate policy

“The new Government must fundamentally re-write its climate change policy as one of its first priorities,” said Green Party Climate Change spokesperson Kennedy Graham.

Dr Graham was commenting on reports from Durban that New Zealand had become a pariah in the climate change negotiations at Durban over the past two weeks.

“New Zealand is failing the test of responsible global citizenship by willfully opposing the more positive initiatives in Durban which might avert the worst of climate change, and would at least assist our Pacific Island neighbours adapt,” said Dr Graham.

“Our Government is taking advantage of the stalemate at Durban to sneak some questionable negotiating positions under the door.

“The UN has called for 25 percent to 40 percent emission cuts by the rich countries by 2020. The draft documents at Durban have included this call. In response, New Zealand has promised a woefully inadequate 15 percent cut conditional on the policies of others.

“Now we are seeking to weaken that inadequate policy by opposing a legally binding extension of the Kyoto Protocol post-2012, and instead seeking a solution that would rest on political commitment alone.

“New Zealand negotiators have been intent on getting rules for forestry that might favour our own future pine plantation plans but which would be disastrous for tropical forestry where it really counts, globally.”

Dr Graham said that New Zealand had also proposed, as part of the emissions trading scheme, to use any ‘flexible market mechanism’ it chose, unregulated through oversight or international review. He said this would make it impossible to verify when multiple sales of units through different mechanisms had occurred, and would drive wild carbon trading while doing little to reduce emissions.

“As a result of our weak negotiating position, we have been heavily criticized by other countries and observers, and rightly so,” said Dr Graham.

“The Green Party had submitted a feasible plan for a 40 percent reduction through achieving 38 million tonnes of domestic emission cuts and an additional 12 million through offsetting.

“It is time this Government came clean to the people of New Zealand. I call on the Prime Minster to highlight this issue in his Speech-from-the-Throne next week, and open it up for discussion immediately when the 50th Parliament opens, explaining why his Government has taken the strangely self-serving negotiating position it has at Durban.”

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