Slow follower

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, September 16th, 2011 - 16 comments
Categories: climate change, ETS, national - Tags: , ,

When it comes to making any kind of effort towards saving the planet from catastrophic climate change I guess being even a “fast follower” was just a little too ambitious for the Key government. Now it seems that they’re content to be slow followers instead:

Govt to consider slowing down ETS

A review panel set up to look at the Emissions Trading Scheme has recommended the Government slows down its implementation.

Current ETS legislation requires the energy, transport and industrial sectors to be fully compliant by 2013. But the report says this should be pushed back to 2015 to make it more affordable for households and businesses.

“Climate change policy comes down to a difficult choice between how much and how quickly we want to reduce emissions and how much households and businesses are prepared to pay,” says Climate Change Minister Nick Smith. “The report is consistent with the Government’s climate change policy goal of New Zealand doing its fair share on this global issue.”

The Government has welcomed the report and says it will take it into consideration.

Duncan Garner rips into the Nats:

The Government will spend $500 million to reduce ever so slightly the impact on consumers, but the move does nothing to save the planet – it just puts it off for another day.

And the Government’s likely to borrow more, meaning future generations will have to pay that back too.

Hands up all those who are surprised by this development. Someone? Anyone? Nah didn’t think so. NRT sums up:

Climate change: Gutting the ETS again

One of National’s first actions after coming to power was to gut the ETS, by granting enormous (and unaffordable) polluter subsidies. The result is a scheme which is massively overallocated, and which provides active incentives for more pollution rather than less. Now, National wants toweaken it further, delaying the full entry of the energy, industrial and transport sectors, and extending pollution subsidies for even longer. This is being spun as reducing the cost on households, but lets be clear: it is about protecting polluters, not us. We’ll still be paying for that pollution, but we’ll be doing it through higher taxes (or, given that this is National, reduced public health services) rather than higher petrol prices. As for the principle of “polluter pays”, it will instead be “pay polluters”. And as for our “20% by 2020” target, we’ll be statutorily committing to fail to meet it.

Meanwhile in other news, Arctic sea ice (melting at what is almost certainly its fastest pace in the last 8000 years) may be completely gone within 30 years. And so on, and so on, and so on.

16 comments on “Slow follower ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Draco T Bastard 1
    16 September 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Energy Efficiency Pt. II
    If the government truly wanted to save the “consumer” money they’d be going further faster but it’s not the “consumer” that they’re worried about but the profits of themselves and their rich mates.

    • Jim Nald 1.1
      16 September 2011 at 2:50 pm

      ‘Slow follower’? Call a laggard a laggard.

      A laggard with an agenda – yes, stall, sabotage and turkey talk any progress that can be made so as to protect the tory cronies’ apparent interests.

      But the donkey should think more carefully – the silly thing is the stupid signal sent by the laggards actually mean opportunity lost and opportunity cost that would have otherwise been avoided by enabling proactive positioning to maximise future potential.

      Even my tory brother is disappointed – he is giving investment advice to his many wealthy clients who are in need of clear signals for a quick and early start to gain the upper hand.

      Stupid is as stupid ass. New Zealand: you voted for this asspirational government.

  2. Macro 2
    16 September 2011 at 3:23 pm

    It was refreshing to hear today the interview of Air New Zealand’s CEO Rob Fyfe
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
    At least some of our Business leaders have the right take on things. Air NZ may even opt to join the ETS early – simply because further delays for them may be even more costly.
    What is so appallingly bad about this further delay of an uninspiring ETS is that NZ businesses are not being given any incentive (or stick) to improve their cost efficiency by examining their energy budgets. It is bad business, it lacks vision, and we are letting huge opportunities to become a world leader, slip through our fingers by appalling leadership. Fortunately at least one business plans to be at the leading edge.
    If you haven’t heard the interview – take the opportunity – Air NZ plans to work towards carbon neutrality, seeking to introduce the use of biofuels in 5 years time.
    This latest delay by the govt – cuts across this initiative! Talk about the Age of Stupid!

  3. queenstfarmer 3
    16 September 2011 at 5:00 pm

    It’s about time the Govt showed some sense on this. Being a slow follower on ETS matters is plain common sense.

    • grumpy 3.1
      16 September 2011 at 5:50 pm

      No point being the first lemming off the cliff……

      • Jenny 3.1.1
        16 September 2011 at 7:16 pm

        No point being the first lemming off the cliff……

        grumpy

        Yes Grumpy, Much wiser for us to follow all the other lemmings over the cliff.

        In the parliament of lemmings:

        So Prime Leminister, what do you think of this running over the cliff thing?

        Well it does look like a terrible bloody disaster, on the other hand everyone else is doing it. So let’s go.

        Wheeeee……

      • Macro 3.1.2
        16 September 2011 at 10:08 pm

        You are obviously a very s l o w learner.
        It’s not about being a lemming.
        It’s about being a leader.
        Those in silicon valley are not jumping off cliffs – they are at the head of the pack.
        Opportunities are going begging.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2
      16 September 2011 at 6:58 pm

      No, it’s plain stupidity but that’s what we expect from RWNJs who aren’t connected to reality.

  4. Jenny 4
    16 September 2011 at 6:40 pm

    Ode to the Nats 19th Century energy strategy.

    I was born one morning when the sun didn’t shine
    I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
    I loaded 16 tons of number 9 coal
    The coal boss said, “Well bless ah my soul!”

    A bloody and brutal business.

    Coal kills

    Kill Coal. Now!

    You load 16 tons and what do you get?
    Another day older and deeper in (carbon) debt.

    St. Peter don’t you call me
    Cos I can’t go
    I owe my soul to the company store

  5. MrSmith 5
    16 September 2011 at 6:47 pm

    Business as usual for the Nacts, another subsidy for the lazy tax dodging farmers, just another business deal to them is our environment, profit being the bottom line, profit in the short term their only motive.

    Until we have binding laws that hold our leaders and governments responsible for there actions nothing will change, altho on the up side we can at-least chuck these stupid farmers lackeys out on there ears in november.

  6. Afewknowthetruth 6
    16 September 2011 at 10:49 pm

    queentreet farmer and grumpy

    Lets not deal with reality. Lets ignore all the evidence, carry on regardless and allow reality to deal with us. That’s really smart thinking (not).

    http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

    http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

    This planet has been overrun by a plague of with fuckwits.

  7. Afewknowthetruth 7
    17 September 2011 at 12:26 am

    We know that National wilL NEVER implement policies that benefit ordianary NZers or coming generatios because National stands for short-term looting and the transfer of wealth from poor people to rich people, plus loading all the costs onto coming generations (and lying to everyone about it all).

    The sad thing is, people are so uninformed the believe almost any bullshit National churns out.

    That is why the next generation is pretty much ‘screwed’.

  8. outofbed 8
    17 September 2011 at 10:48 am

    Record Arctic Ice Melt Threatens Global Security
    http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105112

  9. jabba 9
    18 September 2011 at 12:46 pm

    vote Green

Links to post

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.