Pee Kay
No Minister
We could be on the hook for up to $5 billion in carbon credits but Chris Luxon has made a pronouncement from on high that “remaining in the Paris climate agreement is a bottom line in any coalition negotiations…”
Is this another of Chris’s ‘big time outbursts’ that just might end up inflicting pain on his posterior, like the July decree might when he stated during a post-cabinet press conference that National “ain’t doing business” with parties that want to spend, borrow, and increase taxes, pointing to TOP’s proposed land value tax?
The RNZ report below highlights the contradiction between Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s insistence on remaining in the Paris Agreement and Chris’s claim the government “will not send billions of dollars offshore to meet the target”.
The government’s refusal to fund the necessary overseas carbon credits estimated to be up to $5 billion necessary for its 2030 emissions targets looks to me like it will not be long before we are between a rock and a hard place.
Is Mr Luxon’s stance reducing international climate diplomacy to mere branding, seeking the reputational advantages of compliance without absorbing the mandatory financial costs?
While our prime minister engages in dangerous domestic political posturing over its climate commitments, global heavyweights like China continue expanding coal-fired infrastructure on an industrial scale.
Have a read of Joanne Nova’s article to see the amazing pace at which China is able to, and is, constructing coal fire power plants!
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says remaining in the Paris climate agreement is a bottom line in any coalition negotiations after the election.
New Zealand has pledged to halve its emissions by 2030.
Treasury estimates that could cost the country up to $5 billion in overseas carbon credits but the government insists it will not send billions of dollars offshore to meet the target.
National’s current coalition partners have indicated they do not support the commitment as it stands.
ACT says New Zealand should leave the Paris Agreement unless it set new “realistic” targets, and New Zealand First has also raised doubts about it.
Luxon told Morning Report he did not support their attitudes, and remaining in it would be a non-negotiable in coalition negotiations.
“It’s in New Zealand’s interest to be in the Paris Agreement, because as soon as we would come out, we’re in bad company, there’s only four countries that have pulled out,” he said.
Doing so would make the country poorer, because New Zealand products would be “kicked off the shelves” overseas, Luxon said.
“Are there problems with Paris? Absolutely … we’ve got a big target to try and hit by 2030, we’ll do everything we can.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1193765/pm-christopher-luxon-says-staying-in-paris-climate-deal-non-negotiable-in-coalition-negotiations
This article was originally published by No Minister.
