Climate Change: Admitting it

Climate Change Minister James Shaw has admitted that the government is not doing enough on climate change:

Appearing on Breakfast alongside Greenpeace director and former Green Party leader Russel Norman, the current Greens co-leader was asked: “Are you as Government living up to promise of delivery implicit in those remarkable words from the Prime Minister?”

“Only with caveat that it takes awhile for policies to have an effect. The latest emissions numbers that we’ve got don’t show the effect of any of the policies we put in place in the last term. Those will start to show up in subsequent years,” he said.

“Even then, I would have to agree with you, no, we are a long way off track and it does require every minister to be a Climate Change Minister, not just me.

[...]

“[The increase in emissions] is clearly taking us in the wrong direction and it’s making it harder for us in the long run to reduce our emissions, because we’ve got to take account of the fact that everything has gone into the atmosphere already."

At least he's not trying to lie to us, unlike previous governments (A Labour minister would simply have given us spin and bullshit). But it invites the obvious question: what is he going to do about it? Sure, there's the Zero Carbon Act process we're going through this year, but the Commission doesn't look like its doing enough, and ultimately the decision is going to be made by the Labour Party, not Shaw. If they refuse to do what's necessary, will he call them on it?