NZ – The underarm bowlers of climate change

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, April 23rd, 2016 - 18 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, climate change, corruption, ETS, global warming, john key, national - Tags: , , , , , ,

NZ-climate-cheatsAs was well covered in the media this week, NZ under the Key government has hit new depths of ignominy as per capita the world’s biggest climate change cheat:

NZ accused of being a climate change cheat

The accusation comes in a report written for the Morgan Foundation of millionaire philanthropist Gareth Morgan. … In a caustic foreword to the report, Gareth Morgan wrote “we are, without doubt, cheats”.

The report said New Zealand’s real greenhouse gas emissions have gone up since 1990, which was the date they were supposed to start coming down from. But New Zealand could get away with raising its emissions here by paying money to other countries where emissions were actually being reduced.
…
“One type of credit (the Emission Reduction Unit) was overcome by fraud and corruption in Ukraine and Russia,” the report said. “Virtually all of the credits issued by these countries are ‘hot air’ – they do not represent true emissions reductions.”

The report said New Zealand was proportionately by far the largest purchaser of these Ukrainian and Russian credits.

Punching above our weight!

“This was due to deliberate decisions by the National-led Government to – unlike any other country – continue allowing unlimited use of these and other foreign credits for as long as the international community let us.
…
The government has recently banned the purchase of these credits. But the surplus built up earlier as a result of the purchases is allowed to be carried forward.

It was completely amoral to buy these “credits” in the first place. To KEEP USING THEM now they’re busted is even worse.

This enables the government to claim that it will meet its targets for 2020, irrespective of greenhouse gases being poured into the atmosphere every day. …

Yes folks, we are the underarm bowlers of climate change. It may not matter on Planet Key, but it certainly matters on Earth. It certainly matters to NZ.

As far as I know this issue was first identified by I/S at No Right Turn back in December:
Climate change: A policy based on fraud
Climate change: How bad is NZ’s climate fraud?
We summarised with:
NZ and the emissions scams
A week later the Dom Post:
Dealing with criminals in climate fraud

Now we have the Morgan Foundation report, and:

Government allowed ‘climate fraud’ to reach emission reduction targets – report
Report accuses Govt of being ‘climate cheats’
New Zealand’s carbon credits scheme a farce, says Morgan Foundation report
Dodgy deals with climate fraudsters – NZ’s role in the junk carbon scam
Editorial: Big changes are needed in the Government’s climate change plan

18 comments on “NZ – The underarm bowlers of climate change ”

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  1. Tautoko Mangō Mata 1
    23 April 2016 at 9:18 am

    This government has brought NZ into disrepute by cheating the system but what is even worse is the fact they have deliberately made the climate change crisis even more difficult for young people. This National Government have sold assets, stripped public services, sat on their hands while housing has become unaffordable and reduced the use of railways. Bill English has deemed young men “useless”.

    What kind of adults deliberately make things harder for the future survival of the young in order to benefit themselves in the short term? I can’t think of a printable word to describe them. I’ll have to make do with “despicable” and “sick’!

    A vote for National party means you are condoning this behaviour.

    • Nick 1.1
      23 April 2016 at 9:37 am

      Key can’t help himself, it’s his natural instincts to do dodgy deals, it’s all he knows after years and years of money trading … Along with learning the art of lying his arse off to save face or just get further enough away so the shit doesn’t splat on him……..

    • Anne 1.2
      23 April 2016 at 9:56 am

      And to add insult to injury Key appointed arguably the most ignorant and ill suited to the role cabinet member to be Climate Change minister, Paula Bennett. The majority of this Nat caucus is too thick to comprehend anything they can’t actually see in front of them. They look out the window and see a lovely blue sky and lots of nice green trees and think… there’s nothing wrong out there. It’s all normal. Pfft to Climate Change. It’s just the imagination of a bunch of mad scientists.

      I may be exaggerating but it’s not too far from the truth.

      • Corokia 1.2.1
        23 April 2016 at 11:05 am

        Not exaggerating, Bennett is quoted in the Listener article as “working on a plan to have a plan. And that plan for me goes out decades”. That’s either ignorance or willful blindness.

        • Anne 1.2.1.1
          23 April 2016 at 11:36 am

          As an example why Bennett is a Climate Change ignoramus read this piffle:

          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11627515

          Knowledge of Climate Change and the serious impact on the Earth’s climate has been well known for around 5 decades yet Madam Ignoramus is talking like it’s only just been discovered. Pitiful.

          • Tautoko Mangō Mata 1.2.1.1.1
            23 April 2016 at 11:55 am

            “Mrs Bennett told delegates the government’s number one priority was economic growth and the agreement was the foundation of efforts to do that in a sustainable way for the planet.”
            http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/302156/world-leaders-sign-historic-climate-deal
            FFS!

            • corokia 1.2.1.1.1.1
              23 April 2016 at 2:58 pm

              I thought Tim Groser was too relaxed about the time frame to take action, but Bennett is incredible- as Anne says, she’s talking like its only just been discovered. Does this mean that climate change is only just starting to come up in National’s polling and focus groups?

            • Macro 1.2.1.1.1.2
              23 April 2016 at 3:40 pm

              “Mrs Bennett told delegates the government’s number one priority was economic growth and the agreement was the foundation of efforts to do that in a sustainable way for the planet.”

              Lets just analyse that statement for a moment. I don’t think she realises that she has just uttered two quite contradictory concepts,
              The number one priority “economic growth” obviously cannot be achieved in a “sustainable way for the planet”.

              But it sounds good so that’s ok.

              • Corokia …
                23 April 2016 at 4:59 pm

                ” Sustainable ” in current right wing dialect is a term used to describe a business that they think will be able to keep making money in the medium term. The buses driving workers to the Macraes gold mine have “sustainable exploitation ” written on the back of them!
                I doubt a single National MP could accurately define sustainable.

          • Heather Grimwood 1.2.1.1.2
            24 April 2016 at 5:58 pm

            to Anne: Pitiful and frightening to have it reinforced so clearly that Minister Bennet has no more grasp of her climate change portfolio than when she was given it. Surely deep immersion was an immediate necessity. There is not time for waffling.

  2. stunnedmullet 2
    23 April 2016 at 9:32 am

    Carbon credits are fraudulent……….well who would’ve thought that.

  3. RedLogix 3
    23 April 2016 at 10:54 am

    Fortunately we know who they are, and can hold them personally accountable.

  4. Macro 4
    23 April 2016 at 12:23 pm

    I’ve been saying this for at least a month now – this is nothing new.
    Paula Bennett says:

    “In a statement, Ms Bennett says she hasn’t seen the report so doesn’t know if there was “anything new” in it, but is aware of previous claims the Morgan Foundation has made about international units.

    “New Zealand made the best decision based on the rules at the time. Kyoto has been replaced by the newer and better Paris Agreement,” says Ms Bennett.

    “The ETS isn’t perfect, which is why we’re reviewing it. I absolutely stand by its ability to help us transition to a lower-carbon economy, and international markets have a role to play in that.”

    But weasel words don’t hide the plain fact that these “hot air” credits won’t cut carbon emissions anywhere.

  5. Colonial Viper 5
    23 April 2016 at 1:40 pm

    Financialising climate change via the use of free markets and new financial instruments was always a dumb idea. Who knew that fraud might be a problem.

  6. Macro 6
    23 April 2016 at 4:02 pm

    Speaking of Aussies….
    As usual the First Dog sums it all up

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