Not Dunne Yet

The Government is about to put New Zealand’s climate change response into a coma

New Zealanders want to move towards a low carbon future, and our Government tells us the Emissions Trading Scheme is our main mechanism to achieve that.

But the Government’s extreme plans for the ETS will make our “main mechanism” to combat climate change so weak that it will become completely ineffective.

The ETS needs major surgery to restore it to health – but there’s one critical, common sense step we must take now: putting a cap on it, by limiting the use of foreign carbon credits.

This move will be a lifeline for the carbon forestry industry – a vital part of New Zealand’s climate change response. Without it, action on climate change in NZ will truly be as good as dead. (Get the full story here).

But it’s Not Dunne Yet.

UnitedFuture’s Peter Dunne holds the critical swing vote and he has the power to stop the Government completely abandoning climate change action. We need him to at least support one key amendment limiting the number of foreign carbon credits in the ETS.

Let’s send him a message so strong that he can’t ignore it.

Your voice counts

Let’s use every means possible to tell Peter Dunne that he has a mandate from the people to stand up for action on climate change – and put his foot down for an immediate limit on foreign carbon credits in the ETS.

  1. Write him a letter: Parliament Office, Private Bag 18888, Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160.
  2. Send him an email: p.dunne@ministers.govt.nz and ohariu.mp@parliament.govt.nz
  3. Give him a phone call: (04) 817 6527
  4. Tweet at him: http://twitter.com/PeterDunneMP

Personalised responses are best by far, but if you want a very brief note we would suggest something like:

Dear Mr Dunne,

I call on you to oppose the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading and Other Matters) Amendment Bill in its current form, and only support it with immediate restrictions on the number of foreign carbon credits in the ETS. If the Bill passes in its current form, it will be a tragedy for New Zealand’s action on climate change and our international credibility.

The Bill has one final round of debate before the third and final reading, due to begin when Parliament next sits on Tuesday 6th November.

The final straw

The significance of the Government’s plans is hard to overstate – the last shred of serious climate change policy that exists in our country is set to become completely useless. Get the full story here. As leading business commentator and Sunday Star Times columnist Rod Oram put it,

“Emissions will rise faster, taxpayer liabilities will soar, deforestation will accelerate, our shift to clean and efficient technologies will stall, agriculture’s reputation will be hammered, regulatory uncertainty will escalate for business, public cynicism about government will deepen, Maori will add trees to their water grievances and New Zealand’s credibility in international negotiations will plummet.”

New Zealand deserves better than this. Let’s make our voices heard. Lets’ fix the ETS and get moving towards a zero carbon future.

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