8. Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) Link to this
to the Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues
What progress is the Government making towards the goal of carbon neutrality, as stated by the Prime Minister at the Labour Party Conference 2006?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues) Link to this
Recent progress towards the long-term aspiration of carbon neutrality includes energy efficiency improvements to the building code, a minimum bio-fuel sales obligation, solar water heating initiatives, the passing of the permanent forest sinks legislation, as well as Government leadership through reducing the carbon footprint of governmental activities. Areas where further progressive policies can be expected include the New Zealand Energy Strategy, an updated National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, and choices about price-based measures such as emissions trading to reduce New Zealand’s carbon emissions.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
What credibility does the Prime Minister’s promise of New Zealand being carbon neutral have when Government officials told the select committee last Thursday that they had not been asked for any advice, either before or after the Prime Minister’s speech, on how New Zealand might be carbon neutral, and does this not tell us that the Prime Minister’s speech on climate change was just all hot air?
No, it does not. I think all New Zealanders know that the Prime Minister is very committed to reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the initiatives we have recently made, which I listed in response to the last question, and the other initiatives we have coming up prove testament to that.
Charles ChauvelHas the Government received any reports that its climate change policies are facilitating substantial economic opportunities?
Yes, it has. On 14 November PricewaterhouseCoopers stated that the Climate Change Response Amendment Act passed last week, or the week before, “was ‘a major step’ as New Zealand moves towards price based measures for carbon…”, and that the new legislation “paves the way for New Zealand companies to participate in an exciting new market which has seen spectacular global growth in recent months.” PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that a recent survey by the World Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association puts the total value of transactions in the current market in the first 9 months of 2006 at US$22 billion.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Can he explain how the Prime Minister’s goal of carbon neutrality fits with the Government’s State-owned enterprises Mighty River Power, which wants to proceed with a 320 megawatt coal-fired power station at Whangarei, and Genesis Energy, which wants to proceed with a 230 megawatt gas-fired power station near Helensville, when both State-owned enterprises have indicated that the Government supports these massive increases in carbon emissions, and how can that possibly fit with the Prime Minister’s goal of carbon neutrality?
As far as I am aware, Mighty River Power has never sought or been given governmental approval for Marsden B.
With respect, I am not sure that the member represents that correctly, because my understanding is that Mighty River Power’s CEO Doug Heffernan said at that select committee that Marsden B is being prepared only as a back-up option should there be a shortage of supply developing in the future, and that at that same select committee meeting he noted that there are more than enough renewable energy options, in the form of wind and geothermal, to meet demand through to 2015.
Peter BrownNoting that answer, can I take it from the Prime Minister’s speech that the Government is not particularly interested in research into clean-coal technology, specifically that which will address the carbon dioxide problem, and if that is the position, and noting that the Prime Minister said that we need to be smart and determined, can the Minister explain why?
No, the member should not take that from her answer. Carbon neutrality could well be achieved through carbon capture and storage. Indeed, I think the amount of money that New Zealand spends on research that is involved in looking at carbon capture and sequestration is approximately half of the total energy research budget. If anything, it is actually an overrepresentation in that research budget, in my opinion, rather than an under-representation. None the less, it also remains true that carbon capture and storage is the technology that is likely to be developed mostly offshore, rather than in New Zealand. The United States and Australia alone are spending billions of dollars on that research.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Will he be seeking specific advice from the Ministry for the Environment’s Climate Change Office on how carbon neutrality might be achieved; if not, why not?