NZ: Climate change ‘not taken seriously’

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is not taking climate change seriously, the Green Party says.

Key has recently returned from a five-day Pacific tour which took in Samoa, Tonga and Niue.

He promised the Samoan Tourism Authority a grant of NZ$900 000 to promote tourism and mooted welcoming Fiji back to the Pacific Islands Forum if September’s elections in Fiji prove “free and fair”.

Key said the New Zealand government was also “considering” increasing the annual quota of seasonal work permits for Pacific Islanders from 8000 to 10,000 work permits per year.

But the New Zealand Green Party says Key should instead be explaining to Pacific leaders and communities why the New Zealand government is not doing enough to stop climate change.

Key is the leader of a party whose policies will result in New Zealand’s net emissions increasing by 50 percent over the next 10 years, say the Greens.

“Climate change is the biggest risk facing the Pacific. The region is already being disproportionately affected, yet John Key’s head remains stuck in the sand,” said Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei.

“We are the fifth highest per capita emitters in the developed world. What kind of message is this sending our Pacific neighbours, and Pacific islanders in New Zealand concerned for family and friends back home?”

Turei herself was due to meet Tongan activists to ask them what they want the NZ government to do about its high emission rates.

The Greens have already announced that if they are elected in the national elections this year, they will scrap the emissions trading scheme and replace it with a tax on carbon of NZ$25 per tonne.

They aim to make New Zealand carbon neutral by 2050.