Rodney Hide

By Grant Fleming of NZPA

Wellington, Nov 17 NZPA - Environmental groups have criticised the incoming National government's decision to put the emissions trading scheme (ETS) on hold while it conducts a complete review.

The review is part of ACT's support agreement with National.

It will be conducted by a special select committee and its draft terms include reviewing the science stating humans are to blame for climate change.

ACT campaigned on scrapping the ETS and has questioned whether human-induced climate change actually exists.

National campaigned on watering down the existing legislation within nine months and prime minister-elect John Key yesterday said he was still confident an amended ETS could be passed into law before the end of next year.

But Greenpeace climate campaigner Simon Boxer said National and ACT's stance risked New Zealand suffering a trade backlash.

"The world is running out of time to avoid catastrophic climate change and a good many of the world's citizens are running out of patience.

"New Zealand's trade is based on feeding middle class consumers and giving them a first-class Kiwi holiday," he said.

"Encouraging fossil fuel power stations, further delaying the ETS and gutting the Resource Management Act are all great incentives for the world's middle class to shop elsewhere."

Greenpeace believed agriculture should be brought within the ETS by 2013 and New Zealand should set an emissions reduction target of 30 percent by 2020.

Environmental and Conservation Organisations spokeswoman Cath Wallace said New Zealand had done reviews on climate change policy every year since 1992 and another was not necessary.

"The ETS combined with the moratorium on large new thermal generation would have for the first time placed a price on carbon and have provided investors in cleaner technology with some degree of certainty."

The draft terms for the review includes looking at the merits of a "mitigation or adaptation approach" and whether an ETS or a carbon tax is a better climate change intervention.

The deal requires the National government to pass immediate legislation delaying the implementation of the ETS lifting a ban imposed this year on non-essential new fossil fuel-based power generation.

Mr Key today said he was confident an amended ETS would be the result of the review and it could be passed by the end of next year.

He said that would give businesses enough certainty as the existing scheme did not take effect until 2010.

"I'm quite confident the select committee will come up with what we always wanted which is more balance in this whole debate."

Mr Key said lifting of the ban on fossil-fuel power generation would not lead to a blow-out in emissions, as planned Resource Management Act changes would make it easier for companies to get the green light for large-scale renewable projects.

Mr Hide said he was happy with the "fundamental review" of the legislation, given that ACT had only won 3.7 percent of the vote. NZPA PAR gf kn