Simon Watts: Climate Change Minister on the Government rejecting the Climate Change Commission's recommendations

The Climate Change Minister says we're still at the table for the Paris Agreement, despite the targets being challenging. 

The Coalition rejected all three recommendations made to it by the Climate Change Commission yesterday.  

It means it won't be including international aviation and shipping emissions in its 2050 reduction target.  

Simon Watts told Ryan Bridge they remain committed to the Paris Climate Agreement and are still part of the global conversation. 

He says they're challenging targets in reality, but they have the intent of hitting them. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Paris Agreement.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
The promises we've made are they basically in the lou
government rejected every single recommendation by the Climate Commission to
strengthen our twenty to fifty targets without spending millions on
overseas carbon credits. And remember Nicola Willis says we're not
going to do that. Our chances of hitting them are
slim to none. Surely, Simon Watt's Climate Change minister with
me this morning.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Minister, good morning, very good morning. Ryan, is Paris over?
Should we just be honest about this?

Speaker 3 (00:24):
No, it's not Ryan. We're part of the Paris Agreement.
I've just come back from Brazil. We're there with one
hundred ninety four countries. Really important that we are part
of that global conversation and are we're at the table.
One hundred and ninety four countries are there and we
are as well, and we've got free trade agreements and
it's important for our broader export market. So no, we
are part of that conversation. But the targets that were

(00:44):
set are pretty challenging. We'll be honest about it.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
So we're not going to hit them.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Let's be real, But let's be real. Let's be real.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Let's be real, because your own you're even your own scientist,
you know, you're methane guy from our University of Canterbury.
They're saying, just just be honest about it.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Look, the reality is is that they are challenging targets
and like any targets in life, we have the intent
of hitting them and we will do our best to
do so that's what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
What happens if we don't look.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
The reality is if we don't have milestone's on a
journey we're heading towards twenty fifty. We have targets every
five years, and that's an important milestone we go through.
But the milestone is not destination.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Wins our next one, win's our next next time, twenty.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Thirty, twenty thirty, five, twenty forty, and basically every five
years there's a milestone as you go through.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
And twenty thirty we're not going to have a twenty thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
At the moment. There's a significant gap.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah, okay, all right, so that's okay, and we will
hopefully make up for it later. But it's a hope
and prayer, hope and hope and pray strategy, isn't it?
I mean, we don't actually have a plan.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Well, no, it's not. It's it's just reality that you know,
we targets are said. The targets sometimes are very challenging
and difficult, but it doesn't mean that you don't do
everything you can. But weighing that up with the other
channel and realities that we've got in New Zealand, we're
in an economic depression state in terms of what we
came into government. We've had to weigh up and trade
off and balance what we do around climate in terms

(02:10):
of the impact on agriculture and exports. My job is
to work through and get that balance. And you know
that's what we have to do, to think about the
best interest.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
In And you know, I get like, I get the argument,
but let's just be honest about it, because I mean,
do you know who can see the honesty.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
There's the carbon market. I mean, it's collapse. Nobody trusts
that you're going to do much about the climate. You're
not serious.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
We are serious about the climate. We've got an a
missions reduction plan with a climate strategy, and we're doing
and we're focusing deliberately on domestic that is different from
the strategies previously around a much more broader international play.
We've decided that our focus is are going to do
everything we can on a domestic setting. And look, that's
a positive thing because we are making some good progress

(02:53):
in a number of it.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
When you say everything you can, you're actually doing the opposite,
are't you.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
No, we're not right, and we've got a wig up
norm reality that New Zealand's and exportation as well.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
But I don't want to.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
Make decisions that are going to go against and be
bad for the agricultural See. I get to make decisions.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Economy preaching to the quiet preaching in the choet.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
But just admit it, say, in order to do this,
we're having to forget about the climate.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
For all, we were within our double within our free
trade agreements, we are not able to weaken our position
in regards to.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Our climate target. We just say it so we can.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
No, I'm not saying I'm not saying that, but I'm
just sitting you know that that's what's in.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Our agreement without you're saying it.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Without saying it, we are committed to meeting our targets.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Appreciate your time this morning. Simon Watt's Climate Change for
more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
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