The Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee was a special committee of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

which conducted a review of the Fifth Labour Government's

Emissions Trading Scheme Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...

between December 2008 and late August 2009.

Background

Immediately after the

New Zealand general election, 2008 The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand Parliament. The liberal-conservative New Zealand National Party, National Party, headed by its parliamentary leader John Key, ...

, the new National-led government announced that, in accordance with its coalition agreement with the

ACT Party ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the Nationa ...

, it would delay implementation of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme ("NZ ETS") as established by the Labour Government in the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008 and set up the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee to review the NZ ETS. In November 2008, the National Business Review reported that an international carbon trading company, EcoSecurities Group, had postponed opening an office in New Zealand because of the National Government's decision to delay the NZ ETS.

Terms of reference

The National-ACT coalition agreement mentioned reviewing the

emissions trading scheme Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...

and possible alternatives to it, as well as "hear ngcompeting views on the scientific aspects of climate change" and considering whether responding to climate change is economically worthwhile. New Zealand Herald journalist Brian Rudman commented that National's approach was "indulging Mr Hide in his fruitcake views on global warming". However, the final terms of reference, released on 9 December 2008, were to: "identify the central/benchmark projections which are being used as the motivation for international agreements to

combat climate change Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sour ...

; and consider the uncertainties and risks surrounding those projections". The most economic-oriented term was to: "consider the impact on the New Zealand economy and New Zealand households of any climate change policies, having regard to the weak state of the economy, the need to safeguard New Zealand's international competitiveness, the position of trade-exposed industries, and the actions of competing countries".

Report of the Select Committee

On 31 August 2009, the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee reported back to Parliament, with Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith stating that the National-led Government was still intending to amend the NZ ETS. The report consisted of minority reports from the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...

, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

, the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

and the

. The chairman of the committee,

Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...

, described report as a 'middle road' through 'complex and contentious' material. According to NZ Law firm Simpson Grierson, although the review report made 34 recommendations on climate change policy, it did not make any specific recommendations to amend either the NZ ETS or the

Climate Change Response Act 2002 The Climate Change Response Act 2002 is an Act of Parliament passed by the New Zealand Government. The Climate Change Response Act 2002 created a legal framework for New Zealand to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and to meet obligations under the Un ...

. Simpson Grierson considered that the key findings of the review were that: * the

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ''Climate Change 2007'', the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was published in 2007 and is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and soci ...

represents a consensus on scientific evidence, and should underpin New Zealand's policy. * the ETS should be the primary economic mechanism to respond to climate change. * the ETS should cover all sectors and all gases * at the December 2009

Copenhagen Climate Conference The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

New Zealand should seek an agreement that reflects New Zealand's willingness to do its fair share and play its part in setting the stage for further multilateral action for the post-2012 period.

Rod Oram Roderick Sinclair Ashwood Oram (3 November 1950 – 19 March 2024) was a New Zealand journalist writing on corporate, economic, and political issues. He was a columnist for ''The Sunday Star-Times'', a regular broadcaster on radio and televisio ...

described the recommendations made by the report as "obvious, indecisive or generic". Oram considered that the politics of the review were to provide a "sop to the ACT party and a time-waster for National". Oram concluded that the review had 'failed to make any serious contribution towards improving the working of the ETS'. On 14 September 2009, the National Government announced that it had reached an agreement with the

about revisions to the NZ ETS. On 24 September 2009, the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill had its first reading in Parliament.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Emissions trading Climate change in New Zealand Parliament of New Zealand

Background

Terms of reference

Report of the Select Committee

See also

References