The New Zealand parliament passed a controversial new climate change law through parliament by a narrow majority yesterday, defying its own chief adviser on the environment.
The center-right government fast-tracked legislation setting up an amended emissions trading scheme (ETS) designed to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, which was passed by only 63 votes to 58.
Earlier, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright urged legislators to reject the law, saying: “In its current form, the bill virtually guarantees that the ETS will not achieve its stated goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.”
She said the law was supposed to encourage a move to an environmentally sustainable economy by putting a price on carbon emissions, but they would continue to rise because the worst industrial polluters would be given free credits.
“The amendments pass much of the cost from polluters to taxpayers. And without giving some sectors the incentive to invest in low carbon-intensive technologies, emissions will continue to rise,” Wright said.
Nick Smith, the minister for climate change, told parliament the scheme, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, was “workable and affordable. It strikes the right balance in protecting the future of our economy and our environment.”
The government wanted the law, which amends a tougher trend-setting scheme introduced by the former Labour government, passed before next month’s climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Labour’s spokesman on the issue, Charles Chauvel, told parliament the law was “fundamentally flawed on multiple levels. It is economically irrational, socially inequitable, environmentally counter-productive and fiscally unsustainable.”
He pledged that a future Labour government would repeal it.
The National Party, which rules with a minority government, persuaded the Maori Party to support the law after its free market supporters in the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers party refused to do so.
Under the deal, five big Maori tribes will benefit by getting permission to plant trees on 35,000 hectares of public land and keep profits from selling the carbon credits arising from them.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number