Bryan Walker • Sep 22, 2011 •
The immediate government reaction to the Greens’ announcement yesterday of their “100,000 green jobs†policy was to defend the economic status quo. The Prime Minister John Key: “They are talking about putting enormous taxes on New Zealand that would send a lot of businesses bankrupt.” Transport Minister Steven Joyce weighed in: “What they’re proposing is [...] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Jul 11, 2011 •
Australia will set a price on carbon from July next year, Aussie PM Julia Gillard announced yesterday. Cost per tonne will be set at A$23, rising 2.5% per annum, and the initial tax will morph into an emissions trading scheme from 2015. A full list of the key points and links to comment and reaction [...] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Apr 07, 2011 •
Dr Jan Wright, New Zealand’s parliamentary commissioner for the environment, today released her submission (pdf) to the Emissions Trading Review panel. It calls for a significant toughening up of the scheme that was so extensively watered down by the current government in 2009, in order to avoid a billion dollar per year cost to taxpayers. [...] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Feb 20, 2011 •
Two items during this week highlighted the continuing progress of Solid Energy’s intentions to develop the Southland lignite fields. I therefore provide this depressing update to two Hot Topic posts on the issue late last year. Don Elder (left), CEO of state-owned enterprise Solid Energy, appeared before the Commerce select committee during the week and [...] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Dec 15, 2010 •
On the same day that I wrote a post about the proposed lignite development in Southland I emailed the Minister for Economic Development, Gerry Brownlee, to express my dismay at the news. I have received a letter in reply which explains all too clearly how such a development could, and presumably will, proceed under current [...] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Sep 20, 2010 •
Sadly the Greenhouse Policy Coalition (GPC) welcomes the result of the poll they commissioned from UMR Research, as reported today in the Herald. I’ll comment on the poll a little later in the post, but first a reminder of what the GPC stands for. It includes some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in [...] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Jul 13, 2010 •
This guest post is by Simon Terry, Executive Director of the Sustainability Council and co author with Geoff Bertram of “The Carbon Challenge: New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme†(published by Bridget Williams Books). New Zealand’s failure to reduce emissions to its Kyoto Protocol target means the taxpayer still faces a $1.1 to $5.7 billion net [...] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Jul 07, 2010 •
I opened the farming page of the Waikato Times yesterday evening to see a prediction from Lincoln University agribusiness professor Keith Woodford that the government is likely to dump the methane component from the ETS. He was speaking to farmers at a Lincoln sheep and beef seminar. The article is on Stuff’s website. The basis [...] … Read More
Bryan Walker • Jul 05, 2010 •
Climate change science is clear and undeniable in its general thrust. Climate change politics by contrast are murky and uncertain. Peter Newell and Matthew Paterson have spent nearly two decades researching and writing about the politics, and their new book Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy reflects all the uncertainties [...] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Jun 30, 2010 •
Tomorrow morning, a large chunk of New Zealand’s much debated Emissions Trading Scheme comes into effect. Forestry’s already been in it for two years, but July 1st is the day that the liquid fuels and electricity generation sectors start to have to account for their emissions, and it’s the first day that consumers might see [...] … Read More