Fisking Parker

There is a story in The Press about how carbon emissions are increasing due to the power problems as thermal stations are being reactivated and running at full steam. They say:

Figures for the week to Sunday show estimated CO2 emissions from thermal power stations have risen by about 75 per cent from about 125,000 tonnes a week in mid-March to 220,000 tonnes a week.

Now Energy Minister David Parker tried to dismiss this by saying:

Asked if he was concerned about that and if anything could be done about it, Parker said the longer-term trend was more important and that CO2 emissions from the electricity sector had fallen since about 2000.

Now it would be nice if journalists did not take assertions like this on the word of the Minister, and actually checked the veracity of the claim that CO2 emissions from electricity had fallen since about 2000. Let us do it for them:

The MED has a report covering the period 1990 to 2006. Now what does it say on page eight:

In 2000 thermal electricity generation produced 4,942 kilotonnes of greenhouse gases or CO2 equivalent. And in 2006 it was 8,300 kt. So rather than having fallen, it in fact increased 68% in six years. The increase has pretty much all been coal.

Now we have quarterly reports for post 2006, up to the end of 2007. If you add the four quarters together then the 2007 total is 6,644 – still 34% higher than in 2000.

An analyst tells me the fall in 2007 is due to decommissioning some of the older Huntly turbines – the very ones which are now running at flat tack again!

While on Greenhouse gases, one should also look at the massive deforestation which has happened due to Labour’s policies. Deforestation in 2007 was the highest it has been for 50 years.

And listen to Forestry Minister jim Anderton on Radio NZ about this. He basically says deforestation was inevitable due to government policy!