"After nearly eight months of fiddling the proposal now to add
a price cap to the emissions trading scheme is a triple whammy, bad
for taxpayers, bad for New Zealand's credibility and bad for the
planet," said Greenpeace spokesperson Geoff Keey. "If that's all
they can come up with after nearly eight months in a select
committee we are in big trouble."
A price cap means the Government will guarantee to big polluters
that if the international price on greenhouse gas pollution goes
above an agreed level, polluters won't have to pay the higher price
the taxpayers will have to foot the bill.
"The whopping subsidy to polluters implied by the price cap
means that the public will have to forgo things like health
services and school funding to make up the difference. Taxpayers
will pay twice: first for their share of emissions and then for big
business's share."
"With a price cap polluters are protected from the real price of
carbon and will therefore face little incentive to change their
ways. Emissions under a price cap will keep going up - the
Government will have to use taxpayer's money to buy carbon credits
off shore to make up the shortfall."
"A price cap will also be the death knell of the forestry
sector."
"It's no wonder one of the conditions for New Zealand signing
onto a climate change deal is access to cheap international carbon
credits. The Government needs this to be able to afford the
corporate welfare that a price cap on carbon will cost."
Greenpeace commissioned an economic analysis of the original ETS
that found it was seriously flawed and wouldn't sufficiently reduce
emissions. (1) "The Government appears to have decided to keep the
flaws in the original and add new ones," he said.
"We're pleased that all parties except for ACT agree that
climate change is real and action needs to be taken now. An
Emissions trading scheme on its own was never going to be enough to
address climate change and with these changes it has been made even
less effective, it really amounts to fiddling while the Planet
burns."
"Greenpeace hopes the Government will respond by committing to a
40% target and putting in place the policies needed to reduce New
Zealand's emissions as much as possible, as soon as possible,"
concluded Keey.
Other contacts: Geoff Keey Greenpeace New Zealand spokesperson 021 504 486
Suzette Jackson Greenpeace New Zealand Communications Manager 021 614 899
Notes: (1) New Zealand's expanding carbon footprint http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/press/reports/expanding-carbon-footprint-report March 04, 2008
Analysis of New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme; major flaws and barriers
to emission cuts.
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/new-zealand/press/reports/expanding-carbon-footprint-report.pdf