In Question Time today, the Greens' Dr Kennedy Graham asked about the government's negotiation stance at the Bonn climate change talks:
Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues: What percentage of emission cuts for 2020 will the New Zealand Government commit to at the Bonn Conference, in light of the EU commitment to cut emissions by at least 20 percent, and broadly comparable statements of intent by Australia and the United States?Tim Groser's response, which will be online later tonight, was that that government could not commit to any targets other than its action-delaying "50% by 2050" target, due to "uncertainty" in our net greenhouse gas emissions.
In other words, we will have no target, and instead the government is going to try and juke its stats (to steal that lovely term from The Wire) to make them appear better. This is what the government calls a "balanced" strategy.
