Source: Radio New Zealand
Green Party climate change spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick told RNZ it was “wishful thinking” that New Zealand could remain committed to Paris without buying carbon credits. RNZ / Mark Papalii
There is no way New Zealand can honour the Paris Agreement without buying offshore credits and the government needs to be upfront about that, the opposition says.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis cast fresh doubt on whether New Zealand will pay for the offshore carbon credits it currently needs to meet its 2030 promise to halve greenhouse gas emissions.
She also backed away from a full commitment to meeting that goal, known as a ‘nationally determined contribution’, saying the government was making “best endeavours”.
The most recent analysis from the Ministry for the Environment shows that, even with domestic climate change policies, New Zealand will still miss the 2030 target by 84 million tonnes (Mt) of emissions – a whole year’s worth.
The analysis does not include the effect of more recent changes to climate policies, including weakening New Zealand’s methane target, ditching plans to price agricultural emissions, and easing clean car standards.
Speaking to reporters after a finance select committee hearing, Willis said former climate minister James Shaw had signed New Zealand up to an “extravagant” nationally determined contribution and had not put money aside to pay for it.
Asked if the government would pay for offshore credits if its domestic efforts were not enough to meet that contribution, Willis said it was not in New Zealand’s best interests “to send cheques for billions of dollars offshore”.
“New Zealanders who are struggling to put food on the table are not going to thank us for having a performative awards ceremony after we write billion dollar cheques to other countries to meet a Paris target that James Shaw set. No, that’s not our priority.”
However, she acknowledged that the country had a commitment “and we are making our best efforts to realise that commitment”.
Willis’s comments follow similar dismissals from Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay earlier this year.
They are out of step with unequivocal commitments to the Paris Agreement target from both the Prime Minister and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.
Ahead of the COP climate summit last month, Watts told RNZ that the priority was reducing domestic emissions, “but we are also exploring all available options to meet our [2030] commitment”.
“We are making progress on making sure we have the structures and relationships in place to access offshore mitigation, if needed in the future,” he said.
“New Zealand is exploring collaboration options with several countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and others.”
However, he confirmed there was no “current” plan to buy offshore credits.
Green Party climate change spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick, who was in the select committee hearing, told RNZ afterwards it was “wishful thinking” that New Zealand could remain committed to Paris without buying carbon credits.
“We are potentially on the hook for tens of billions of dollars, and all [Willis] can say is we’re not going to to send those tens of billions of dollars offshore, which then begs the question of how we’re going to meet our [commitment] as the government is domestically shredding climate action here at home,” Swarbrick said.
“The maths do not maths.”
Senior ministers, including the Prime Minister, had publicly committed to New Zealand’s targets, she said.
“You cannot have it both ways.”
Despite Willis and McClay’s comments that New Zealand would not be buying offshore credits, the government’s actions suggested differently.
“You simultaneously have a situation where the minister of climate change is then signing MOUs with other jurisdictions to enable … that offshore mitigation to occur,” she said.
“All signs point to the government knowing and actually actively taking steps to implement and to pay other countries for offshore mitigation, yet [they’re] not being upfront and transparent with New Zealanders about what that liability will look like.”
Asked why the previous government had not financially committed to paying for overseas credits, Swarbrick said she had pushed former finance minister Grant Roberston and Treasury on that “all of last term”.
“James Shaw also pushed on that during his tenure.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
