Labour says National's emissions policies are not credible. Photo / Dean Purcell
Labour says National's emissions policies are not credible. Photo / Dean Purcell
Labour says National’s promises to repeal its climate policies will see an extra 23.92 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions in the atmosphere by 2030.
“Our modelling shows that the net effect of constantly opposing policies to reduce emissions leaves [National leader] Christopher Luxon with a hole greater than Auckland’s annual emissions twice over if he keeps New Zealand’s climate targets,” Labour’s climate change spokesperson and Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said.
Twisting the knife, Woods likened the gap between target and policy to National’s fiscal hole dilemmas of the last general election.
“Not content with wallowing in a fiscal Bermuda triangle, they’re also falling down a carbon black hole - a 23.92 million tonnes CO2-e hole. That’s the equivalent to the emissions of around 1.2 million cars over the same period,” Woods said.
The figures come from modelling prepared by the Ministry for the Environment which tallied up the emissions the policies would reduce for the Government. Labour has taken those calculations and added them together to calculate how much emissions would increase by if National won the next election and repealed the policies.
National’s acting climate change spokesman Todd Muller called the attack a “desperate beat-up by the Labour Party”.
“National is absolutely committed to Net Zero by 2050. Climate change is real and New Zealand will rise to the challenge of responding to climate change under a National-led government,” Muller said.
“We are committed to emissions targets and support the Government’s emissions budgets. We agree on the ends, but differ on the means.
“New Zealand needs policy that works and to achieve Net Zero by 2050 in the most cost-effective way possible. That means relying heavily on the Emissions Trading Scheme, as that drives the cheapest emissions reductions - not spraying taxpayer money at subsidies for Teslas or big corporates that were already investing in climate change,” he said.
Woods accused National of not having announced “a single policy designed to reduce emissions”.
“It’s time for them to front up and say what they would actually do to cut emissions, or just admit their policy chest is as empty as their promises,” Woods said.
National supported the Government’s Zero Carbon Act last term, although it wants to make some changes. The Zero Carbon Act asks the Climate Change Commission to recommend emissions budgets for the Government to set, which are meant to take the country’s net emissions to zero by 2050.
National backed the Government’s first three emissions budgets in Parliament earlier this year, with Luxon saying at the time that “climate change is a huge challenge. National is fully committed to emissions targets, including net zero by 2050″.
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods took a swipe at National's lack of emissions-reduction policies. Photo / File
That is where the similarities between National and the Government end. National has been fiercely critical of the Government’s clean car discount (feebate) scheme, as well as many of the proposals in its Emissions Reduction Plan.
Woods slammed National for opposing “the clean car discount and public transport initiatives, minimum standards for new cars and new homes as well as support from Government to help businesses and schools remove coal boilers. They also think we can continue to wait to reduce methane emissions”.
“In the same week global leaders are gathering to talk about increasing climate action at COP 27, the National Party announce plans to bring back oil and gas exploration,” she said.
“Unfortunately for Christopher Luxon his plan to use the ocean as a carbon sink is mere pseudo-science. It’s also not clear if he thinks that sea levels rising means there is more ocean for carbon to fall into, or if he’s just okay with warming waters, coral bleaching and disruption to sea life,” Woods said.
Labour’s calculation is based on a list of policies National has said it disagrees with. National has not put together a final climate policy for the election, which would detail when and how the policies are repealed. This would change Labour’s calculations.
In recent weeks, Labour has attacked National for a lack of policies around climate and for not detailing the costings behind its tax policy. It has challenged National to reveal the details of those policies.
