Greens' James Shaw critical of National favouring tax cuts instead of climate action

Aerial view of flooding in Canterbury in May 2021. Photo / George Heard

By Hamish Cardwell of RNZ

"Let me put it this way .... this is a big deal" - that's the Climate Change Minister on the suite of climate policies about to drop.

The next 10 days may see a historic shift in climate policy in Aotearoa.

We learnt today that the Government's long-awaited comprehensive plan to slash emissions is coming next Monday - and then it's the Budget which has climate front and centre - the Thursday after.

But before all that, there will be a special parliamentary debate on climate change on Thursday.

It comes as data shows there is half as much time as previously thought to mitigate or retreat from sea level rise in some parts of the country.

Minister James Shaw talked up the Government's actions to reduce emissions and was scathing about the National Party's plans for tax cuts right when massive investment in climate action was needed.

"I think it's an absurd proposition - what [Minister of Finance Grant Robertson] refers to as the Bermuda Triangle, the idea that you can increase infrastructure spending, cut taxes, and reduce debt all at the same time.

"It is just not actually physically possible."

Climate Change Minister James Shaw. Photo / Mark Mitchell

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said a good government would find a way to do them.

But he supported the target Cabinet set for reducing emissions - a slight decrease over the next three years, with steeper cuts coming later in the decade.

Meanwhile, the Act Party announced today it would essentially bin the entire climate programme.

Business New Zealand spokeswoman Tina Schirr said the sector looked forward to finally knowing what was in store.

Fossil fuel industry body Energy Resources Aotearoa's policy manager Joshua O'Rourke said the Government was ignoring the impact of the cost burden to taxpayers and businesses from the steep cuts required.

"We still need to think about whether they actually stack up in terms of the benefits exceeding the costs because if they don't, actually all Kiwis will end up worse off."

O'Rourke would prefer to let the emissions trading scheme drive efficiencies and innovation to let firms and individuals decide on the cuts needed.

But Shaw said ETS reductions would only get the country a third of the way there - with the rest needing to come from other policy measures.

Meanwhile, Dr Paul Winton from the 1.5 Project said by essentially adopting the reductions recommended by the Climate Change Commission the Government was committing to action grossly short of what was needed.

"The current Government's plan is incrementalism, what we need is transformation."

The issue was subject to court action in February, with a judgement from the High Court expected any time.

And with resource management act reform under way, and decisions on pricing farm emissions and the Government's climate adaptation plan both due this year - 2022 marks a turning point for Aotearoa on this crucial issue facing the planet.