ACT says responsible climate change policy is a "bottom line"

Press release: ACT New Zealand March 31, 2014. 11:00am

The Act Party today reconfirmed its policy on climate change focusing on mitigation and adaptation. This follows the release of the lates report form the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“Act’s policy is that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) should immediately be abolished,” Act leader Jamie Whyte said today.

“Our absolute bottom line to provide National with ongoing support on confidence and supply is that there be no expansion of the ETS until China, the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, India and Japan and Canada take similar material steps to implement ETSs across their economies, including agriculture,” said Mr Whyte.

“New Zealand is well ahead of any other country in imposing climate change costs on our economy – and we are the only ones even considering including agricultural emissions. We should not move any further ahead until the world’s top ten emitters follow.

"We need a responsible climate change policy that sees us move in line with the rest of the world on mitigation and which focuses on any adaptation policies that are needed.

"The ETS is the wrong policy for New Zealand even if every element of the IPCC report and its new climate change models is correct.”

China, the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, India and Japan and Canada are together responsible for over 70% of global Greenhouse Gas emissions, while New Zealand’s share of global emissions has fallen over the last decade from around 0.19% to around 0.14%.

Emissions in China and India are expected to keep increasing over the next few decades, with China expected to become by far the world’s largest economy by the middle of the century, and India is expected to become equal to the United States.

No country outside the European Union currently operates an ETS. The EU ETS excludes most of its economy, and does not cover agricultural emissions.

ENDS

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