New Zealand’s use of ozone depleting gases increases

A new Government report highlights that the amount of ozone depleting gases New Zealand is using is increasing, the Green Party said today.

The report tabled in parliament yesterday shows that total use of ozone depleting gases in New Zealand has increased 81 per cent since 2008, despite New Zealand committing to reduce the use of gases that deplete the ozone layer creating the ozone hole.

“The increase in New Zealand’s use of ozone depleting gases is solely due to an increase in use of the toxic fumigant Methyl Bromide,” said Green Party forestry spokesperson Steffan Browning.

“This increase is due to a massive increase in the export of raw logs.

“We need to add value to our exports that will create jobs and reduce the need for the use of this toxic ozone depleting gas.

“As well as reducing the need for fumigation by investing in added value, we also need to immediately scale up the use of recapture technology.

“Methyl Bromide recapture is already used for containers and we can scale this up for use on logs.

“We need to invest in forestry to ensure that we are creating value and jobs, and not merely shipping out raw logs and leaving a toxic legacy for our children,” said Mr Browning.
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