Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Size irrelevant for carbon tax

By Nicola Young
Whanganui Chronicle·
8 Jun, 2014 08:33 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Nicola Young says New Zealand has always been proud to punch above its weight.

Nicola Young says New Zealand has always been proud to punch above its weight.

As a close follower of climate change science and politics, should I have been surprised to see a Federated Farmers spokesperson quoted this week as saying they did not have a position on whether climate change was real?

The Feds' William Rolleston apparently followed up on his interview questioning the role of methane - the fart gas - in climate change, calling it a "political construct".

I'm not sure what a political construct is; however, I'm fairly confident that methane contributes to climate change.

One of the terms used in climate science is carbon dioxide equivalents - that's the standard unit of measure, but different gases contribute different amounts. Methane has about 20 times the impact of carbon dioxide.

So, unfortunately for New Zealand's massive growth in dairy farming, the issues are not just water quality and nitrogen discharges - climate change rears its ugly head too.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Fed Farmers were responding to the Green Party's policy announcement to can the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and introduce a charge on climate pollution, along with a climate tax cut.

The ETS started with good intentions but morphed into a ridiculous subsidy for polluters that didn't reduce emissions - New Zealand emissions continue to grow.

And New Zealand now has the dubious honour of being the fifth-highest emitter per capita in the developed world.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I was at Greens' annual conference, where co-leader Russel Norman announced the policy. Yep, I'm a proud Green, so I support the proposals.

Just before it was announced, my colleague warned me that the policy might be controversial - instead, it has been welcomed from unusual quarters.

Right-wing commentator Matthew Hooten and the Taxpayers' Union have come out in support, along with a positive editorial from the Dominion Post and NZ Herald columnists in favour. It was also supported by doctors from the New Zealand Climate and Health Council (OraTaiao), plus the OECD head has been quoted as saying a carbon tax is the best way to reduce emissions.

So what's changed to have this overwhelming impression that a carbon tax is welcomed?

I think it's a combination - the serious and wide implications of climate change are more deeply understood, with the deniers no longer getting the same air time, as the vast majority of scientists accept man-made climate change is real and happening now. It is becoming widely recognised as the single greatest challenge of our time and New Zealand taking a stand is reminiscent of our position in the 1980s on nuclear-free Aotearoa.

I also think this response reflects a coming of age for the Green Party - they are no longer positioned as an extreme outfit and instead are gaining respect for their solutions-focused approach to inequality, caring for our kids, housing insulation, better public transport as well as climate change and the environment.

The few critics of the policy launch focused on it being pointless to take a stand because we are such a small contributor on a global scale - but that is not the Kiwi way. We are proud of punching above our weight in sports, in science, in innovation, and in women's leadership - this is another opportunity for us to make a difference.

The Minister of Climate and Environment in Norway was quoted as saying "Norway accounts for 0.04 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In isolation, what we do is of little significance. But we cannot think like that. Every Chinese city, every US state, every coal power plant emission is small in the larger whole. We will not get anywhere if we just point at each other."

It's time to pull our weight when it comes to climate change.

Nicola Young works for global consultancy AECOM, is a former Department of Conservation manager and a columnist for the Chronicle. She was educated at Wanganui Girls' College, has a science degree from Massey University and is the mum of two young boys.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM

Volcanic tremor remains low; Mt Ruapehu is at Volcanic Alert Level 1.

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM
'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP