Climate change: Compare and contrast

Māori Party minority report on the Review of the Emissions Trading Scheme and related matters [PDF], 31 August 2009:

During the debate on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill, the Māori Party raised concerns over the introduction of an ETS. Opposition to the bill was both generalised and specific. At a fundamental level, there was opposition to an ETS which allows sectors to pollute and trade up to the Kyoto target, but which does not include incremental emission reduction targets in its design.

The new scheme they will be voting for has no incremental emission reduction targets in its design.

More specifically, we opposed the bill because of its relative ineffectiveness and inequalities, including the subsidisation of the nation’s largest polluters at the cost of households and small-medium businesses.

The new scheme they will be voting for has higher subsidies, for longer, at a cost of $400 million a year.

The Māori Party continues to oppose the introduction of an ETS on these grounds, and would do so more strongly if a replacement scheme were to be less effective and more inequitable.

The new scheme they will be voting for will be less effective and more inequitable.

Market forces will continue to be unpredictable and mitigating measures such as price caps and price protections may be demanded and agreed to for longer than merely transition periods.

The new scheme they will be voting for includes price caps and price protections far beyond what is necessary for a transition period.

The urgency of the climate-change crisis demands the development and implementation of an effective scheme that is not reliant on whether or when the price of carbon increases to a sufficient level to incentivise change.

The new scheme they will be voting for ensures that prices will not increase to a sufficient level to incentivise change.

We also remain deeply concerned about protections in the form of intensity-based allocations and subsidies, which again distort the market model by allowing protected businesses to increase their emissions without penalty, and to be rewarded for it.

The new scheme they will be voting for includes intensity-based allocations and subsidies for industrial and agricultural polluters, allowing then to increase their emissions without penalty and be rewarded for it.

The Māori Party strongly believes that more needs to be done.

The new scheme they will be voting for does less than the one currently in place.

We take seriously the kaupapa of the Māori Party—rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga, kotahitanga

The new scheme they will be voting for does not.