Businesses back delay to emissions trading
massey-university
Thu Sep 17 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Businesses back delay to emissions trading
Thursday, 17 September 2009, 3:36 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Businesses back decision to delay emissions trading
Small and medium enterprises support the Government's decision to delay the emissions trading scheme, a survey conducted by the University's Centre for SME Research shows.
Centre director Professor David Deakins says the survey of more than 1500 businesses nationwide was conducted as part of the longitudinal research programme, BusinesSMEasure.
The scheme, the Government's primary response to climate change, has been delayed and will now come into effect in the middle of next year, with smaller businesses benefiting from a deal that will halve the potential impact on their power and fuel bills.
"Almost 55 per cent of firms thought that New Zealand should move at the same pace as other countries with respect to responding to climate change, rather than being a global leader on it," Professor Deakins says. "In relation to the emissions trading scheme directly, just over 50 per cent of firms disagreed with the carbon credit policy, and 30 per cent of firms were unsure how the scheme would work and what impact it would have on them.”
The survey also showed that 61 per cent of firms thought that both the Government and business should have primary responsibility for maintaining New Zealand's physical environment, but opinions were divided on whether large emitters should pay a higher price for carbon and smaller emitters a lower one.
Professor Deakins, who has recently taken over as centre director, says the responses to the survey show it is an excellent tool for measuring the attitudes of small and medium enterprises across a wide range of topics.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
“The aim of BusinesSMEasure is to understand how New Zealand firms perform over time and how their managers develop their own capabilities, but it also acts as a barometer on issues that they are facing, and shows how well informed they feel they are.”
The centre has three dedicated staff and 12 research associates across the university, including the former centre director, Professor Claire Massey, who is the head of the Department of Management in the College of Business.
A new survey, to be distributed shortly to more than 4500 firms, includes questions on the effect of Government regulations on SMEs. The results will be out in February.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from Massey University on InfoPages.