Labour adopts National climate change policy

It is no surprise that National has endorsed Labour’s emissions trading scheme.  It is closer to National’s  policy than to previous Labour policy.

• It is a carbon emissions trading system rather than a carbon tax
• Forest owners will get a portion of the carbon credits for their trees (something the Government has been refusing to do for years)

Incidentally I think the uncertainty over the price of carbon might mean that a tax is a better option at this stage, especially if one tied the tax to the actual level of warming.

No Right Turn has knowledgable analysis.  He points out that while Labour is setting targets for various sectors to be carbon neutral (such as electricity by 2025), the exemption for agriculture means that being “carbon neutral by 2040 in everything but agriculture” is actually less of a commitment than National’s proposed goal of 50% by 2050.