“A new report from Castalia shows that Labour’s “nuclear free moment” is going to cost Kiwis big time,” says ACT’s Climate Change spokesperson Simon Court.

“New Zealand can’t afford this Labour Government. The report states that the oil and gas ban is expected to add $7 billion in additional energy costs to households over the next 12 years, the ban also doesn’t lower emissions any more than was otherwise possible.

“ACT would repeal it. With Kiwis dealing with a cost of living crisis it has never been more important that the ban is lifted. Kiwis can’t afford to pay more for energy for no good reason, the report shows that investment in carbon capture, utilisation, and storage can reduce the same amount of emissions with less impact on people’s back pockets.

“The Government is trying to lead us back into the dark ages. We need clean natural gas as a transition fuel and the alternative to mining our own energy resources is importing more coal from Indonesia.

“The decision to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration in 2018 was done without analysis, without a Cabinet decision, and without public consultation.

“It was subsequently revealed that there was no cost-benefit analysis and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment found it would actually increase global emissions by forcing activity offshore.

“Global coal exporters have been the biggest benefactor of the policy. According to figures from MBIE, coal use for electricity generation was up 29.5 per cent in 2022. There is no environmental benefit to this policy if Indonesian coal is imported instead.

“ACT proposes a realistic, no-nonsense climate change policy that matches our efforts with our trading partners’ with minimal bureaucracy. We should set a cap on total emissions in line with the actual reductions of our trading partners, then allow New Zealanders to import high quality foreign carbon credits so we pay the world price, not an artificial price.

“It is increasingly clear that New Zealand will need real change come 2023. ACT is ready to provide the backbone for a new Government.”

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