Cancun To Show The Foolishness Of The ETS

The Climate Change Conference in Cancun might be nothing more than a meaningless and actionless talkfest, but it does have one saving grace – it should show the National Government how foolhardy it would be to continue forging ahead with its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), ACT Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesman John Boscawen said today.

“Like the Copenhagen summit before it, the Cancun conference will consist of nations doing a lot of talking – but ultimately coming to no agreement,” Mr Boscawen said.

“In fact, of all the nations represented in Cancun, only New Zealand jumped in where angels fear to tread – implementing a comprehensive ETS forging ahead with it at a time when all other countries are abandoning theirs.

“In 2009 I warned Climate Change Minister Dr Nick Smith that, with the ETS, he was gambling with our economic future. I urged him to scrap the ETS or, at the very least, delay it and retain the commonsense ‘wait and see’ approach that National promised in 2008.

“But Dr Smith ignored my calls and, as we can clearly see, the gamble did not pay off: New Zealanders are burdened by significant extra costs for no environmental benefit; our exporters are at a disadvantage in the international market; and we are completely isolated from our major trading partners of China, Japan, Australia and the US.

“Cancun will show us that we’re also cut off from the rest of the world and that this won’t change – both Dr Smith and Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser have already admitted that Cancun will yield no global agreement, especially since the US has abandoned its own planned emissions trading scheme.

“I urge Dr Smith not to ignore this overwhelming international evidence and to do the right thing upon his return to New Zealand: repeal the ETS, remove the burden from New Zealand families, and prevent New Zealand from falling even further behind the rest of the world,” Mr Boscawen said.

ENDS

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