“It is not too late for the Government to dump the Climate Commission’s advice, set a cap to reduce emissions in line with our partners, and let New Zealanders choose how they live, travel, and work within that cap,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“ACT was the only party to vote against the Zero Carbon Act and we got it right.

“If the rest of the world wants to decarbonise, then we should track them. It is dangerous for a small trading nation to get out of sync with its trading partners for reasons of diplomacy, trade, and consumer preferences.

“It would be foolish for New Zealand to ‘lead’ the world. Whether we like it or not we are a passenger on this journey, our emissions alone will not change the climate.

“The Government shouldn’t micromanage the economy to reduce emissions. It needs to set the cap on carbon credits in line with other, similar countries’ emissions.

“Micromanaging will not reduce emissions. If a dairy factory gets more efficient heating, that won’t reduce overall emissions, because it merely frees up credits for someone else to use.

“ACT would introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to that of our trading partners.

“ACT believes New Zealand must play its part on climate change. But any response must be simple to administer, politically durable, and effective. New Zealand will only prosper if we match our goals with actions which actually benefit the environment.

“In place of the Zero Carbon Act, ACT would introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties New Zealand’s carbon price to the prices paid by our top five trading partners. This will show the world New Zealand is doing its bit. It is a simple and effective response to climate change.

“There is a better way than micromanaging the economy and ACT will continue to show the way.”

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