-
Nick Smith - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
-
Related
Thirty dollars a week for every man, woman and child looks likely to be the price Kiwis will have to pay to do their bit to fight global warming.
But the government says the cost would have been twice that if it had signed up to the pollution cuts urged in a high profile campaign by Greenpeace.
The sheer scale of the problem isn't questioned by the government.
"What's going on is going to have a fundamental impact on human life on planet earth," says Nick Smith, Climate Change Minister, speaking on TV ONE's Q + A programme.
With a new international climate change agreement being negotiated this year, countries are being urged to dramatically cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenpeace has campaigned for New Zealand to cut by 40% by
2020.
Smith ruled that out on Sunday, saying a new report shows it would
be too expensive.
"That indicates a cost of about $15 billion per year at 2020.
That's more than the entire cost of our health system," says
Smith.
According to the report if we do nothing about climate change, the
average income per person will be $49,000 by 2020. Cutting
emissions by 40% cuts that income back to $46,000.
Greenpeace says its campaign continues regardless.
It appears the government will aim for a 15% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. The cost of that is about $1400 per person.
Smith was asked if that is roughly what he is aiming
for.
"Well I would also note that if we look at the countries that have
tabled their targets to date in the negotiations, the overall
average comes in at about 15%," he replied.
The price of electricity and petrol will certainly rise under an emissions trading scheme.
"The existing law, the existing ETS would have petrol prices go up by about six cents a litre, power prices up by about 10%," says Smith.
That illustrates the dilemma in this debate.
"People want to be big and bold on climate change but the moment you mention putting petrol prices up and power prices up it gets politically pretty ugly," says Smith.
It's a political battle where Nick Smith will take centre stage.
