Youth say future not looking so bright under National

Thursday, 17 November 2011, 3:20 pm
Press Release: Generation Zero

Youth say future not looking so bright under National

16 November 2011

A close look at political party policies shows a significant gap between the leading parties in their plans for tackling climate change and New Zealand’s dependence on oil.

As part of its efforts to deliver a more future-friendly government this election, Generation Zero has conducted an in-depth comparison of party policies across six topics critical to addressing climate and energy challenges.

Generation Zero is a non-partisan collective of young people campaigning for strong action to address the challenges of climate change and economic dependence on fossil fuels.

“We wanted to make it clear and simple for voters to see which parties and candidates are serious about taking real action on climate change, and how credible their plans are in the important policy areas,” says spokesperson Paul Young.

The analysis, and a scorecard, is on the group’s Elect Who? website (http://electwho.org.nz/), alongside interviews probing candidates on their personal views.

The policy areas analysed are emissions targets, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), fossil fuel extraction, transport, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and research and development (R&D) into low-carbon technology.

National received negative ratings in four of the six categories, with neutral ratings in energy efficiency and renewable energy and low-carbon R&D.

“When you look closely at National's plans they actually have us headed in the wrong direction on almost all fronts,” says Young.

“National’s current approach is best summed up as 'business as usual' – they are largely paying lip-service to huge threats like climate change while keeping on doing the same things, or worse.”

In contrast, he says, Labour comes through as a party taking climate change and energy issues seriously and committed to a proactive and responsible approach to protect the future.

“While we’d like to see them going much further still with their policies, it’s clear there is a stark difference between what we’d see from Labour-led and National-led governments.”

Generation Zero says National’s targets do not constitute a fair share of what is required to avoid dangerous climate change, and the party has no credible plan for meeting its goals.

“The sad reality is that National is going backwards with its intention to ramp up mining of lignite and other fossil fuels, spend over $10 billion dollars building new highways, and further weaken the Emissions Trading Scheme to lower the effective carbon price,” says Young.

“Meanwhile the warnings get more and more severe. Just last week the International Energy Agency announced that continuing business as usual for just five more years will essentially lock us into a path of dangerous climate change, and delaying action is a 'false economy'.”

While giving credit to Labour for stances such as opposing lignite mining and pledging funding for the Auckland Council’s public transport plans, Generation Zero does not endorse Labour’s claim that it has the boldest pledges on climate change going into the election.

Young says, “It's the Greens who stand out as the party with the strongest statements and most detailed policies for reducing emissions and transitioning to sustainable energy sources.”

Generation Zero is doing its best to ensure youth get out to vote with their future in mind.

“The decisions our country and the world makes over the next few years will essentially determine what kind of world today’s young people will inherit,” says Young.

“Thankfully New Zealanders have a lot of choice at the ballot box this election, and we hope Elect Who? will help people assess what the better choices are for the climate.”

http://generationzero.org.nz/
http://electwho.org.nz/

ENDS

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