Public consultation on our climate target needed

green-party

Sun Mar 01 2015 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Public consultation on our climate target needed

Sunday, 1 March 2015, 12:45 pm
Press Release: Green Party

Government must commit to meaningful public consultation on our climate target

The Green Party is today calling on the Government to commit to meaningful public consultation around its emissions reduction target it will take to the United Nations (UN) climate talks in Paris later this year.

“The UN deadline for submitting targets is the end of March. With this deadline fast approaching, the Government has still not indicated when it will announce its emission reductions target, or what kind of public consultation it will undertake,” said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.

“The target New Zealand will bring to the table in Paris is important to the future of New Zealand. Climate change affects us all. It is vital the public have a say.

“The Government has suggested it will publicly consult, but it must commit to real and meaningful consultation; that means the public must be able to have a say in person in public meetings with Ministers, as well as being able to make submissions.

“The Government must go out into our communities in order to hear what is important to the public.

“The National Government’s policies have put us on track to increase our emissions by 50 per cent in the next decade. New Zealanders want to see us playing our part in global efforts to reduce emissions and tackle climate change.

“We’ve been disappointed by Climate Change Minister Tim Groser’s refusal to answer our requests for information around the target setting process.

“Thousands of people have written to the Minister asking for real consultation on our target. Instead of refusing to answer our questions about the Government’s plan for setting a target, they must show they take climate change and New Zealand’s future seriously and commit to real consultation and a transparent process,” said Dr Norman.

ENDS

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