August 26, 2014
Climate change action welcomed


Iwi leaders have welcomed Labour's plan to restore the price of carbon units.
Spokesperson Apirana Mahuika says National's policy of allowing big emitters to buy cheap eastern European carbon units rather than New Zealand Units has cost iwi around $600 million.
The savings haven't been passed on to consumers, and instead power generators and other emitters have gouged $1.4 million out of customers, he says.
Labour will restrict use of international units, bring agriculture into the emissions trading scheme, and set up an independent Climate Commission to set significant emissions reduction targets.
Analyst Chris Karamea Insley says bringing the NZ Unit price back to around $15 per tonne would drive new investment into forestry in the regions.
Up to 100,000 hectares of Maori land a year for 10 years could be involved, creating 50,000 new and permanent jobs.
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