Monday, January 16, 2017



Bill English is wrong: urgency is needed on climate change

The Herald reports this morning that Bill English doesn't think climate change is much of a problem:

Prime Minister Bill English doesn't share Donald Trump's scepticism about global warming - but says he has always been wary of "extreme" views about the appropriate response to climate change.

[...]

"Some people want to inflict considerable pain on the economy to prove the point. And I have never believed in that extreme view," English said.

"But I think New Zealand's views are moderate [and] sound, and we have good tools in place...and I think we should aim to keep the Emissions Trading System [ETS] in place."

English said he could not remember when he decided human activity was driving climate change but said he had supported the ETS when the previous Labour Government introduced it.


This would be the Emissions Trading system which subsidises pollution and which does nothing to reduce it. So English's "moderate" climate change policy is "pretend to care, while doing nothing". Policies which might actually reduce emissions (and prevent National's donors and cronies from profiting by destroying the planet" are just too "extreme".

And meanwhile the planet is burning and the icecaps are melting. Our major cities are looking at serious flooding by the end of the century. Its not "extreme" to want to stop that - its basic fucking prudence. We need urgent action to stop this. Instead Bill English is fiddling while Wellington floods.