Govt climate plan must have integrity

The National Government’s refusal to cancel out fraudulent Russian carbon credits by using the surplus authentic carbon credits it holds, puts the integrity of our international climate commitments at risk, the Green Party said today.

Climate minister Paula Bennett is continuing to refuse to cancel bad carbon credits purchased from Russia and the Ukraine between 2013 and 2015 to offset the carbon emissions of New Zealand businesses.

It was subsequently found that approximately a quarter of those carbon credits were fraudulent and that no reduction in emissions took place.

“The Government needs to restore New Zealand’s international integrity by trading authentic carbon credits for previously used fraudulent ones,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said.

“The National Government created the rules that allowed New Zealand companies to buy cheap, dodgy Russian carbon credits; National now needs to clean up the mess it created. Paula Bennett has the opportunity to step in and do the right thing.

“If our climate plan is seen internationally as fraudulent and compromised, then we’ll have little standing in future international climate and trade negotiations.

“New Zealanders would be horrified to know we’re still pretending to have reduced our emissions when nothing of the sort happened. It’s like using counterfeit money to pay for dinner when you’ve still got real money in your back pocket.

“This Government has shown that it can respond to public pressure. I’m asking New Zealanders to call on the Government to do the right thing and make good on our climate reduction commitments,” said Mr Shaw.

Link to Green Party climate petition:
http://www.worthsaving.org.nz/no-dodgy-carbon-credits

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