By Celsias team
Posted on April 28, 2010. Listed in:
The government has defied a concerted attempt by business lobby groups to postpone the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Climate change issues minister Nick Smith says the scheme will commence on July 1, as planned.
The move is surprising given Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's move to dump plans for the Aussie version of the ETS.
"New Zealand needs to make a modest step forward on climate change. The scheme will provide incentives to invest in forestry, renewable energy and more efficient technology," says Smith.
Business groups--including Business NZ, the Chambers of Commerce, the NZ Roundtable, Road Transport Forum and the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association--petitioned the Prime Minister to drop or delay the scheme arguing that it's a tax that is out of step with Australia, the US and the rest of the our trading partners. In a letter, the nine lobby groups argued:
"We think that the current emissions trading scheme is too rigid, and may in fact frustrate the delivery of the outcomes sought from it. Therefore, we seek an assurance from you that in light of recent events the Government is taking stock of whether the current climate change policy settings which focus primarily on an emissions trading scheme remain appropriate for New Zealand."
As late as Thursday the Auckland Chamber of Commerce was promoting an anti-ETS petition to its members, prompting one Auckland business owner to complain that it was not representing members' interests.
Despite the pressure and the Aussie back-flip Smith remains defiant.
“Claims that New Zealand is the first in the world to have an ETS is incorrect. Three quarters of countries facing Kyoto commitments, 29 out of 38, already have an ETS.
“New Zealand’s scheme only provides for a half obligation. We’ve added a fixed price option of $25 a tonne and provided generous allocations for trade-exposed industries. National’s changes have more than halved the costs to businesses and households.
“It is also not correct that the ETS is a tax. This completely ignores the carbon credits flowing to forest owners. In it’s first year forest owners are budgeted to receive $1100 million in credits as compared to the $350 million in costs to businesses and households for emissions.
Smith says the dangers of failing to meet the July 1 deadline are obvious: “There would be real instability and uncertainty in deferring the emission trading scheme’s introduction at this late stage. I have been contacted by a number of businesses who are making substantial investments or have entered into significant contracts that would be severely disadvantaged by change."
Not sure what the ETS means for you? Here's an idiot's guide.
I'm always banging on about how people need to write to their MPs instead of just complaining to their mates, but I think it's just as important to give 'em the thumbs up when they do something right. So I just emailed Nick Smith to say "nice work" -- it felt good!
Written in April 2010