Air freight taxes could hurt NZ

Transporting NZ fruit to Europe is criticised in a British report. Picture / Bay of Plenty Times

New taxes on air freight advocated by a British report on climate change could threaten one of New Zealand's main sources of income.

Air transportation of agricultural exports is one area highlighted as a possible target for new green taxes.

Lobbyists in Europe argue that by eating produce from countries such as New Zealand consumers are effectively using up oil because of the energy spent in transporting them.

They point to the "food miles" accumulated with imported fruit and vegetables -- claiming one kilo of kiwifruit imported from New Zealand to England results in the discharge of five kilos of carbon.

The British report by Sir Nicholas Stern, commissioned by the UK's Finance Minister, warns the world has 10 years to tackle climate change, or face a global recession costing around $10 trillion.

Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has dismissed the claim as motivated by protectionism, saying the production of key New Zealand agricultural exports is more energy efficient than production of the same primary products in Europe, even taking into account the distance travelled by the exports.

The report urges Europe to take action, and says large-scale uptake of a range of clean power, heat and transport technologies is required to attain major emission cuts.

The report precedes UN climate talks, starting in Nairobi on November 6, focusing on finding a successor to the Kyoto Protocol against global warming, which ends in 2012.

The report, a 27-page summary of which has been released, says even if the annual flow of carbon emissions did not rise beyond the current rate, the stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would reach double pre-industrial levels by 2050 and would continue growing.

It says ignoring climate change could lead to economic upheaval on the scale of the 1930s Depression.

It also says the world does not have to choose between tackling climate change and economic growth, contradicting United States President George W Bush who pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol in part because he said it hit jobs.

"The evidence gathered by the review leads to a simple conclusion: the benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs," said the report.

On current trends, average global temperatures will rise by 2-3 degrees centigrade within the next 50 years or so.

About 200 million people will become refugees due to drought or flood.

- NZPA