Scrap The ETS Before Things Get Worse

ACT Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesman John Boscawen today renewed his call for the Government to scrap the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) following revelations that the price of coal – which has risen as much as 40 percent for some companies – is forcing New Zealanders out of business.

“I predicted that the ETS – which is designed to increase energy and fuel costs – would harm businesses, but National ignored my calls to scrap the scheme and pushed ahead with implementation on July 1,” Mr Boscawen said.

“Since then a number of greenhouse vegetable growers have been forced to close, and some horticulturalists are now also following suit.  These enterprises are just the tip of the iceberg.  Inevitably, other energy-intensive businesses will have to close to avoid being smothered by the added costs of this damaging scheme.

“It is impossible to understand how the Government can credibly validate retaining the ETS.  It cannot be justified in an environmental sense – the Prime Minister’s own Chief Science Advisor Professor Sir Peter Gluckman himself has said ‘anything we do as a nation will in itself have little impact on the climate – our impact will be symbolic, moral and political.’ 

“Neither can it be justified as being in the best interests of New Zealanders – unless it is in the country’s best interests to see businesses going under, people losing their jobs and everything becoming more expensive.

“National got what it wanted by becoming the first government in the world to implement such a comprehensive ETS.  Now that it has this out of its system it should admit it made a mistake and quickly scrap the ETS before it can hurt New Zealand even further,” Mr Boscawen said.