Labour welcomes European commitment to Climate Change

The Labour Party has welcomed the announcement by European leaders of a sweeping new package of measures designed to tackle Climate Change, Labour spokesperson for Climate Change, Charles Chauvel said.

The package is intended to enhance existing EU measures, and was timed to coincide with the close of the Poznan Global Framework Climate Change talks in Poland.

Mr Chauvel, is in Europe for 10 days as a guest of the European Commission and spent Thursday and Friday in London (at his own expense), meeting with officials, politicians, NGO's and business groups on energy and climate change issue.

This week, he will be in Brussels and Strasbourg to hold talks with senior European Commission, Climate Change officials, and to observe the debate in the European Parliament on the ratification of the Climate Change package.

Mr Chauvel said he welcomed Gerry Brownlee's announcement on Friday morning that an ETS will be retained by the National government in New Zealand, in spite of contrary indications over the past 6 weeks.

Mr Chauvel said that Labour would be directing its efforts toward ensuring that the design of National's ETS was in New Zealand's interests. He also hoped that on other issues such as biofuels, and insulating low-income houses, National would eventually decide to do the right thing.

"Now is the time for developed nations to act responsibly on climate change," Mr Chauvel said.

"The USA, Canada, Australia and the EU are all moving toward ETS mechanisms, and strong complementary measures in the areas of energy efficiency. It is clearly in New Zealand's interests to get back into the mainstream on these issues, as well as it being the right thing to do."

ENDS

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