Latest NZ carbon position questioned

New Zealand’s (NZ) Labour Party Climate Change Issues Spokesperson Charles Chauvel said in April that the national government’s carbon emissions policies are heading in the wrong direction. Figures show NZ’s gross greenhouse gas emissions are still 23% above 1990 levels, he said, adding that the government’s policies have led environmental campaigns to a wrong direction, as it has been “stalling the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), scrapping the ban on thermal generation, doing away with the biofuels obligation and failing to include in the country’s stimulus package measures to help along the transition to a lower polluting economy.” There are also potential problems with the country’s carbon credits, Chauvel said, as the figures also show a very low uptake of forestry credits by foresters, who are the only ones who can obtain domestic carbon credits to sell to emitters. Thus, the government has to get its domestic carbon credits market up and running so foresters can feel more confident about buying credits. (April 15, 2009)