Pause in ETS law applauded

Media statement May 20, 2008

Pause in ETS law applauded

The Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern supports the need for New Zealand to have a robust policy to combat man-made contributions to greenhouse gases.

"The design of an emissions policy is of the utmost importance to New Zealand's economic sustainability," says EMA chief executive, Alasdair Thompson.

"We support the National Party's call for a pause to reconsider New Zealand's emissions trading scheme (ETS).

"However, the call for a delay in putting the ETS into law is not a call for delaying policy development.

"We strongly support a positive response to the issue of climate change.

"But great costs to our economy would be imposed if we were to pursue the scheme on the table. It would reduce our standard of living and create serious risks that certain industries including core industries would relocate to non Kyoto compliant countries, and in the meantime create massive windfall tax gains for the Government.

"It needs to be tax neutral as the Greens suggested in the first place.

"If an ETS imposed economic costs anything like those suggested by recent independent studies from NZIER and Infometrics, the scheme would collapse.

"Recent changes by the government that will see no polluters entering the ETS until 2010 are in line with the timing planned by Australia, and we strongly support aligning the timing of our scheme with Australia's. That would create a much bigger market than if we went ahead on our own," Mr Thompson says.

ENDS

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