It’s ridiculous for Climate Change Minister Nick Smith to claim that the Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme is responsible for the reduction in deforestation, when it was the ETS that caused the mass deforestation in the first place, ACT New Zealand Climate Change Spokesman John Boscawen said today.
“Dr Smith admits New Zealand’s plantation forest area grew steadily until the 1990s. There have only been three years when there has been net deforestation: 2006, 2007, and 2008. Why? It’s because under the ETS, as of Jan 1 2008, forest owners who cut down trees planted before 1990 must pay an average ETS tax of $17,000 per hectare for a mature forest. This created a perverse incentive,” Mr Boscawen said.
“To escape this liability, forest owners culled their forests at unprecedented levels. This would never have happened if it weren’t for the ETS tax. Now, with the cash incentive the ETS has created to plant trees in exchange for carbon credits, land owners have an incentive to replant.
“The damage wrought on the forestry industry by the ETS tax is clear – with deforestation reaching record highs. Rather than being responsible for the reduction in deforestation, the ETS tax actually created this carbon-fuelled merry-go-round.
“From July 1 this year, the ETS tax is set to wreak havoc through our whole economy as the stationary energy, fossil fuels and industrial processes sectors come into the Emissions Trading Scheme. Petrol, electricity and the cost of goods will rise as the ETS tax percolates throughout the economy.
“It’s time for the Prime Minister and the Government to acknowledge that it’s crazy to force this expensive experiment upon us. Not one of our major trading partners – Australia, China and the US – has implemented, or looks likely to implement, an ETS. France has just suspended its carbon tax. It’s time for National to suspend the ETS,” Mr Boscawen said.
Tags: Emissions Trading Scheme