Labour says emissions are too cheap, hints price should rise and confirms end of 18
The New Zealand Labour Party has announced plans to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme to better incentivize genuine emissions reductions. The party also confirmed it will no longer campaign on pricing agricultural emissions.
Why it matters
Changes to emissions pricing policies significantly impact climate targets and the economic viability of the agricultural and forestry sectors.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has promised action on climate change. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Labour Party says it will fix the Emissions Trading Scheme if elected, saying the current price is “too low to drive meaningful emissions”.
Announcing its policy this morning, leader Chris Hipkins and climate change spokeswoman Deborah Russell said the party would urgently review the scheme and move quickly to implement any changes.
Hipkins also confirmed Labour would not campaign on pricing agricultural emissions, first reported by the Herald , ending nearly two decades of Labour campaigning on some form of emissions pricing for agriculture.
Labour is concerned at the rampant tree planting that has depressed the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price without encouraging emissions reductions. A low ETS price encourages polluting firms to buy offsets instead of investing in processes that actually reduce their emissions.
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