This is a reminder that the Government’s consultation on what climate action New Zealand should take after 2020 is underway, and will finish on June 3, a week from today.
Many of you have attended the Ministry for the Environment’s meetings up and down the country. The officials have clearly been surprised at the interest in its roadshow, having to make last-minute switches to larger venues in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. Well done everybody for turning out.
However, many have been concerned and frustrated at the summaries given at the end of those meetings, which, many argue, did not reflect the strength of feeling among participants. One person was taking notes, but we have no idea whether our strength of feeling has been properly conveyed to officials or, indeed, whether it will reach the ears of Ministers. The media is certainly not helping us in this regard.
It’s important that you make your voice heard in writing.
It does now look like MfE will make submissions public on its website. We look forward to reading those from industry, especially, given their public silence on this issue.
How can you make a submission?
Easy online submissions through various organisations
If you want your voice heard, but don’t have time to read through all the background and write your own, here’s some online submission forms that will make it easier for you:
- Generation Zero’s Fix Our Future website
- Greenpeace’s online form
- WWF’s suggested points to make
- Green Party Online submission form
Write your own submission
- You can write your own submission using the online MfE form
- Download your own form to write submission
- Read the Government’s consultation document
- For those of you with an interest in how they came to their conclusions, read themodelling that guided MfE. The assumptions are astounding
- (scroll down for more on the economic aspects).
More details on the consultation
Economic arguments make up the main thrust of the Government’s arguments against acting on climate change. The Greens (Russel Norman) have been following the economics and challenging the Government on this aspect:
- Press release: Why are we paying climate polluters $31m to pollute?
- This facebook post by Russel Norman shows the costs of paying polluters to pollute – as set out in the budget.
- This set of questions to the Minister by Russel Norman reveal that the Treasury has costed not acting on climate change at $52billion, something that was left out of MfE’s documents, but obtained under OIA.
Other useful blogs and media
There has been limited analysis of the Government’s proposals and discussion paper in our media.
- This blog by Dave Hansford sets out the problems with the consultation and the Government proposals: Multi-no-choice – National’s Idea of Climate Consultation
- Hot Topic’s Gareth Renowden: It’s déjà vu all over again: NZ consultation on climate target set up to be a farce·
- Gareth Morgan: Why are we still dragging our feet on climate change?·
- Brian Fallow, NZ Herald Solar could get New Zealand back into clean energy race
- Brian Fallow, NZ Herald Government vague on climate targets
- RTCC: New Zealand stresses costs of climate action, looks to carbon markets·
- Xinhua News: New Zealand faces challenge over greenhouse gas emissions
What others are saying
There has been little in the media from business and industry groups, except Federated Farmers:Climate Change Conversation welcomed (response on Hot Topic here – Federated Farmers sticking their heads in the soil?)
Coverage of the meetings
Thanks to the efforts of some organisations there has been a little coverage on the meetings themselves:
Oil Free Wellington on first Wellington meeting
ODT (Dunedin) Climate change target ‘moral not economic question’
RNZ: Climate change meeting attracts hundreds
350.org Christchurch – strong leadership urged for climate change targets
We hope you can get time over the next week to make a submission, one way or another – our Government needs to hear our voice on this.
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