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| Greenpeace welcomes new NZ carbon market | | May 2 2007 | |
May 02, 2007
Print Send Auckland, New Zealand - Greenpeace today welcomed new plans by the Carbon Market Working Group to establish a carbon emissions trading platform, but warned New Zealand's focus should be on reducing emissions, rather than just trading credits.
"This is a step in the right direction and carbon trading will play an important role in tackling climate change, but it's important that the top priority is reducing emissions rather than just offsetting them," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Vanessa Atkinson.
"We need to see behavioural changes and investment choices that favour low emission technologies and practices such as renewable energy and energy efficiency.
"The big risk is that companies or individuals can now buy a credit on the market and feel like they've done something about climate change, but not actually reduce their own emissions. That won't solve climate change.
"For example people need to be flying less rather than just buying credits to offset their flight emissions, as Air New Zealand is encouraging people to do (1).
NZX chief executive Mark Weldon cited the potential benefits of New Zealand's clean green image in the emerging international carbon market.
"But markets and our overseas investors will not be fooled by greenwash and will demand that New Zealand is serious about the issue and actually cuts greenhouse pollution. We have already seen the sensitivity of the UK market to the issue of 'food miles' from New Zealand agricultural products. New Zealand needs to live up to its rhetoric and put a price on greenhouse pollution across the economy and set strong emission reduction targets.
"However, gaining experience in the carbon market will be important for New Zealand particularly as the Government indicated last week it's preference for an emissions trading scheme for New Zealand.
The recent OECD report into New Zealand's environmental performance was critical of the country in not having a price on greenhouse pollution and being inexperienced in using Kyoto's flexible mechanisms, which include carbon trading. |
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