Govt cheated on international climate commitments

The Green Party is calling on the National Government to immediately cancel all fake emission reduction units it owns and admit it cheated in order to meet its global commitments to cut climate pollution.

Today the Morgan Foundation alleged in the Listener Magazine that the Government allowed ‘fraudulent’ emission reduction units from the Ukraine and Russia to be used so New Zealand could meet its 2020 climate target on the cheap.

‘Emission reduction units’ allow New Zealand polluters to pay someone else to cut greenhouse gas emissions so they can carry on polluting. A large share of the units the National Government allowed to be traded in New Zealand have been described as “fake” by the Stockholm Environment Institute, as the units were attached to fraudulent projects that did not result in actual reductions in climate pollution.

“Claims by the National Government that it made substantial cuts to climate pollution in the past eight years are finally being outed as false,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“We would like Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett to come clean about when her Government first knew the emission reductions it claimed as real, were in fact fraudulent. We need to know why her Government did nothing to stop them being used.

“You simply can’t cheat on climate change and pretend it’s ok. If every government followed National’s lead and bought fraudulent credits instead of taking meaningful steps to cut climate pollution the world would be in a dire state.

Minister Bennett will next week travel to New York as part of the signing ceremony of the Paris Climate agreement. The ceremony will be attended by Climate Ministers and heads of states.

“The National Government has seriously undermined New Zealand’s international reputation for honesty and transparency. The Minister will have a lot of explaining to do in New York next week.

“The National Government has allowed millions of dollars to go to these fraudulent operations overseas, millions that could have instead been invested in New Zealand to strengthen our economy, environment and society,” said Mr Shaw.

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