Greenhouse emissions a national responsibility

Greenhouse gas emissions remain a national responsibility

Genesis Energy today welcomed the Court of Appeal’s Declaratory Judgment that the Auckland Regional Council must not have regard to the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change when considering the resource consent application for the proposed Rodney Power Station.

The Court’s decision now gives Genesis Energy and others certainty when preparing resource consent applications for facilities that emit greenhouse gases.

Genesis Energy had confirmed to the Court that in its view it was Parliament’s intention that the Resource Management (Energy and Climate Change) Amendment Act 2004 removed the ability of regional councils to consider the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change when writing rules and deciding on consent conditions.

It was made clear by Government Ministers during the introduction of the Act that greenhouse gases and climate change was a national issue to be managed by national policy and legislation.

In his Parliamentary speech introducing the Resource Management Amendment Bill in 2003, the then Convenor, Ministerial Group on Climate Change, Hon Peter Hodgson said “greenhouse gas emissions are so important that they should be managed through national mechanisms”.

In the past month the Government has introduced the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill, which is the core legislation for enabling greenhouse gas emissions trading. The Bill also introduces a ban on connecting new baseload thermal (fossil fuel) generation for the next decade.

Genesis Energy is currently reviewing the engineering and operational specifications of the proposed Rodney Power Station and will consider at Board level the next move. If it proceeds, the final operational configuration of the Rodney plant would be consistent with Government directives and the New Zealand Energy Strategy.

ENDS

© Scoop Media