Kaupapa for sale

• Eddie
• 15 years ago
• Categories: climate change, maori party, national/act government
• Tags: ets, hypocrisy

A few important passages from the special select committee report on the Emissions Trading Scheme:

In the long term, price caps stand in the way of market development and shield business from the real price of carbon to the economy…[National and United Future] recommend to the Government that if a short-term price cap is introduced, a clear exit strategy is critical for maintaining market confidence and development. (Opposed by the New Zealand Labour Party, the Māori Party, the ACT New Zealand Party, and the Green Party.)…[p49]

Capping the price or delaying entry to the scheme could increase wealth transfers, particularly from foresters, and those investing in clean technology to large industries and farmers…[p55]

Under output-based approaches, incentives for consumers to substitute goods or reduce their purchase of emissions-intensive goods would be reduced…[p58]

Intensity-based system without cap: cons: Government has lower control of direct fiscal impact (some mitigation options exist). May well be more fiscally expensive than other options for a given level of subsidy per unit of output. Weak signal to reduce emissions, as output related subsidy. National emissions may increase relative to other options. Administratively complex with respect to defining intensity base…[p59]

New Zealand National, United Future New Zealand, and the ACT New Zealand Party favour an intensity-based scheme without a cap. The New Zealand Labour Party, the Māori Party, and the Green Party oppose this option…[p62]

The Māori Party continues to oppose the introduction of an ETS on these grounds, and would do so more strongly if a replacement scheme were to be less effective and more inequitable… Market forces will continue to be unpredictable and mitigating measures such as price caps and price protections may be demanded and agreed to for longer than merely transition periods. The urgency of the climate-change crisis demands the development and implementation of an effective scheme that is not reliant on whether or when the price of carbon increases to a sufficient level to incentivise change… [The Maori Party] also remain[s] deeply concerned about protections in the form of intensity-based allocations and subsidies, which again distort the market model by allowing protected businesses to increase their emissions without penalty, and to be rewarded for it…[p113]

The Māori Party strongly believes that more needs to be done. Instead of relying on carbon sinks from forestry or buying credits on the international market to achieve our targets, we need to be focused on decreasing domestic emissions. A commitment to prioritise emission reduction will best serve the climate system and protect New Zealand businesses and taxpayers from market uncertainties. We take seriously the kaupapa of the Māori Party—rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga, kotahitanga—and urge the Government to develop a wide-ranging sustainability framework in which to consider policy development on climate change, renewable energy, transport, roading, industry, employment and so on, to best ensure our collective future well being. Current and future Kyoto targets are a minimum response to addressing climate change… [p114]