KEY POINTS:
The Government looks like it is retreating on its big climate change push as quickly as it advanced the surprise concept of a 'carbon neutral' New Zealand.
Prime Minister Helen Clark's announcement of a two-year delay to transport's inclusion in the flagship emissions trading scheme yesterday can only be seen as backpedalling.
It is understandable backpedalling - the kind of pragmatic move an experienced politician like Clark makes when she senses the public tide is turning.
It is only 18 months since the Prime Minister first voiced the aspirational target of taking the country to carbon neutrality. A lot has changed since, with food and oil prices surging as high mortgage rates also begin to bite on household budgets.
It is no longer as easy to convince people of the worthiness of paying more now for everyday goods in order to prevent global warming.
Unfortunately for Labour the cluster of climate change policies it was trumpeting only a few months ago have turned into a political problem as their real costs finally start to sink into public minds.
A quick glance at three key planks of the sustainability push show the extent of the problem.
The biofuels push is languishing in a select committee as the global debate about the merit of some of the fuels rages.
The regional fuel tax - to be used to fund the 'sustainable' electrification of Auckland's rail system - is being toned down so the country's largest city isn't slapped with another 5c a litre on the price of its petrol.
And now the first part of the biggest of all the climate change policies - the emissions trading system - is also being slowed down so that drivers don't feel more pain at the petrol pumps.
Make no mistake, it is a major shift to be delaying the introduction of transport to the emissions trading scheme.
The Government can argue that it doesn't immediately need the trading scheme to send a price signal to drivers because the high price of petrol is already doing that.
That is a legitimate argument.
But it is one that doesn't sit nicely with the likes of the Greens, who are now loudly voicing their disgust at the Beehive's perceived lack of nerve on climate change.
Frankly it doesn't look like Labour cares too much what the Greens are saying right now.
It wants to project an image to the electorate of a Government that is listening to households, is aware of their financial pain, and is willing to do something to help.
In an election year, slapping more costs onto those very households could be political suicide.
That is not a risk that Labour is willing to take - however worthy it might have previously told us such a move was.
