ETS Review Needs To Improve System

Labour says that a review of the Emissions Trading Scheme next year needs to make the scheme fairer and more effective. Environment spokesperson Charles Chauvel says the review, required by legislation, is an important opportunity.

"First, the review needs to make the scheme fairer to households. The current scheme places a disproportionate burden on taxpayers, by requiring them to pay big subsidies to emitters. Treasury warned last year that this was not affordable in the long term. On top of that, it's unfair for households to subsidise businesses," Charles Chauvel said.
“The scheme needs to collect revenue from emitters, and use that revenue to pay for schemes that help to reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is how we could pay for a range of badly-needed environmental initiatives. It's how we could promote energy efficiency in every New Zealand home and business.

“It's how we could promote a 'cash for clunkers' programme to get gas guzzling cars off the road. It could also be used to pay for a lot more research to help our farming sector to reduce animal emissions.

"Secondly, the review needs to turn the ETS into a tool that actually reduces New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. The current scheme doesn't do that - in fact, it will probably lead to a rise in those emissions over time.

"The Government has been sending signals over the past few weeks that it may defer the entry of farming into the ETS, or increase the subsidy from taxpayers to emitters, as a result of the review.

"These would both be moves in the wrong direction." Charles Chauvel said.

ENDS

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