National under fire for plan to review climate scheme

National under fire for plan to review climate scheme
Environmental groups are horrified at a "radical" turn in the National government's climate-change policy just a week after the election. Under a confidence-and-supply agreement with ACT, the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will be put on hold during a review and a thermal-power generation ban will be lifted. The Auckland-based national group Environmental Defence Society yesterday expressed disappointment at the agreement, saying it would take the new government on an unexpectedly radical course. Society chairman Gary Taylor said the "cave-in" shook his confidence in Prime Minister-elect John Key's new coalition. "I was expecting centrist, progressive, Blue-Green environment settings from this new government and instead we've got this great lurch to the Right," he said. "ACT has some very extreme views, not only on the ETS but on the Resource Management Act, which is up for review, I see." New Zealand seemed unable to find a popular political response to climate change, after coalition deals sunk a planned carbon tax and, at least, delayed an emissions trading scheme.
Greenpeace warned that National and ACT could risk a trade backlash by lowering New Zealand's environmental standards and procrastinating over climate change. "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 senior climate campaigner Simon Boxer said. Environment and Conservation Organisations spokeswoman Cath Wallace said the agreement was a backward step that could threaten the environment. "We can't continue stealing from the future by polluting the only planet we have," she said.

We are now waking up to the fact that National’s claim of ‘moderation’ is just as hollow as their claim of ‘change’ with this massive environmental leap backwards. ACT are a climate change denial political party whose leader has claimed C02 is a misunderstood nutrient, which comes across as kinda Simpsons-esk, “Hi I’m Troy Maclure – C02, Environmentalists call it pollution, ACT calls it liberty” – Rodney has also claimed that a 2 degree rise in temperatures would be wonderful for NZ and we really have little to fear – all of this is inane and shows that ACT, a political party with original aspirations for 10% electoral support has changed strategy to be a 4% party plus electorate and as such can make their message as niche as they like, hence the climate denial bullshit and the sensible sentencing death penalty fantasist crap. Putting ACT in charge of global warming legislation is like putting George Bush in charge of the UN.

This is moderate huh folks? How’s that change feeling NZ?