Call for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions dismissed as unrealistic

Calls for massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are being dismissed as unrealistic. A draft document circulating at the UN climate summit in Bali says cuts of between 25 and 40 percent will be needed by the year 2020.

Climate Change Minister David Parker joins the summit this week, and already business lobby group The Greenhouse Policy Coalition is urging him to be cautious.

Spokeswoman Catherine Beard says cuts of that size would be a huge ask for New Zealand. She says a lot of forestry blocks will be harvested during that timeframe, creating emissions which have to be accounted for, and at the same time removing carbon sinks.

The document is the first outline of a new global deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

- NEWSTALK ZB