Energy Minister Supports Carbon Tax Deferral

The deferral of the carbon tax decision is an appropriate response to a difficult domestic and international issue, Energy Minister Max Bradford said today.

The deferral does not represent any lessening in the Governments commitment to managing climate change or greenhouse gas emission problems, Mr Bradford said.

However, we must manage those problems without destroying or unreasonably inhibiting economic development locally.

We do not want to simply shift environmental pollution problems to lesser developed countries with lower environmental standards than New Zealand, Mr Bradford said.

As Minister of Energy, Mr Bradford is encouraging initiatives to ensure New Zealand adopts environmentally sensitive and efficient energy policies.

The launch of the Wind Power Association two weeks ago is a concrete example of the sort of initiative that New Zealand needs to promote.

In addition, the Governments energy sector reforms are expected to significantly boost the economys energy efficiency, conservation and use of renewable energy sources substantially through competitive markets, Mr Bradford said.

The Governments wide ranging energy efficiency initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) have already recorded results.

Voluntary carbon dioxide agreements between the Energy Minister and industry groups are estimated to result in a 2.4 million tonne abatement in carbon dioxide emissions in the year 2000. The agreements identify energy efficiency and other activities to abate carbon dioxide emissions.

The agreements signed so far cover the generation of power, the processing of fossil fuels and industrial usage. Overall the agreements apply to more than 40 percent of New Zealands total CO2 emissions.

EECAs programmes are estimated to achieve energy savings of $6 million a year as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 18,000 tonnes per year.