Babes in the Wood

The Māori Party decision to support the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is arguably the most significant decision it will ever make, on arguably the most significant legislation in the history of this country. Significant because, as John Holdren, President Obama's chief science adviser recently said, "it is already too late for the world to stop 'dangerous' climate change and we can now only hope to avoid 'catastrophic, unmanageable change' where global warming runs out of control."

As this magazine was going to print, New Zealand was set to attend Copenhagen, along with two Māori delegates, hoping to get the rules relaxed for forestry. Frankly, it's a very small-minded approach to the issue and may get us in to trouble. I suspect people at Copenhagen are interested in big gestures, not what may be seen as self-serving attempts by a small country to game the international cap and trade scheme.

Hopefully, Māori party and iwi advisers are already well aware of the suspicions over forestry offsets in Europe. But are they aware of how far the tone of the debate has changed? Consider the UK. The British government has just spent £6 million running this advertisement on prime time television:

Dad: There was once a land where the weather was very, very strong. There were awful heat-waves in some parts and in others, terrible storms and floods…

Scientists said it was being caused by too much CO2, which went up into the sky when the grown-ups used energy. They said the CO2 was getting dangerous, its effects were being seen faster than they thought.

Some places could even disappear under the sea. And it was the children of the land who'd have to live with the horrible consequences…

The grown-ups realised they had to do some-thing. They discovered that over 40 per cent of the 'CO2' was coming from ordinary everyday things like keeping houses warm and driving cars, which meant, if they made less CO2, maybe they could save the land for the children…

  • The Father pauses.
  • Dad: …no more tonight darling.
  • Girl: …is there a happy ending?

The advertisement then points to the UK government website "Act on CO2", which urges citizens to take immediate steps to reduce their carbon footprints.

The UK has committed itself in its Climate Change Act 2008 to a net reduction of 60 per cent in carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, a very tough target.

On weekends in NZ, you can watch the BBC production "Outrageous Wasters" in which UK couples are castigated for having two cars, eating fast food, and leaving heaters on. In other words, acting like middle class New Zealanders. They are taught to drastically change their lifestyles and strictly avoid any food from overseas.

In November, the UK experienced a one in 1000 year flood. In Ireland, the city of Cork experienced a one in 800 year flood, and 50,000 residents were left without drinking water for a week. In 2003, there were 2,139 deaths in England from an unprecedented heat wave that led to over 37,000 deaths throughout Europe.

The worsening situation will lead to finger-pointing and scapegoating.

The erosion (if not implosion) of NZ's green credentials is being noticed overseas, most recently in articles in the Guardian newspaper concerned about our use of forestry to cover our excessive emissions as a nation.

In such a volatile political and natural environment, I think that any group should be cautious about trading away customary interests for arrangements involving forests or quota systems on natural resources – for example, fish, and possibly water.

It also seems to me that a unique opportunity is being missed. Indigenous peoples are already bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change. In NZ, there is an opportunity for an indigenous people to show the world what needs to be done. For example, quite apart from forestry and the creation of carbon sinks, Māori groups are in a prime position to invest in major renewable energy projects on their land, such as wind farms and geothermal power stations in the Central North Island. A number of schemes are being discussed, but discussions to date have focussed on regional adaptation, rather than asserting a NZ-wide and even global leadership. Some indigenous nations are literally in danger of drowning. Global leadership is urgently required. A bold national and international approach might also have more long-term political benefits than a few million dollars in forest credits squeezed out in a political accommodation today.

At the very least, iwi organisations should be readying Māori communities and marae for what is to come. As one scientist recently put it, what we are currently experiencing is 'tropical disturbance'. What is certainly coming, such as two degrees of warming, is 'hurricane force'. He could have added, we now have a rapidly narrowing window to avoid something worse than hurricane force.

He Whakaaro
Opinion
nā
TOM Bennion

In such a volatile political and natural environment … any group should be cautious about trading away customary interests for arrangements involving forest or quota systems on natural resources – for example, fish, and possible water.

Tom Bennion is a Wellington lawyer specialising in resource management and Māori land claim and Treaty issues. Formerly a solicitor at the Waitangi Tribunal, he is currently the editor of the Māori Law Review, a monthly review of law affecting Māori, established in 1993. He recently wrote a book, Making Sense of the Foreshore and Seabed.

Inside Issue 45

SEARCH FOR CALM WATERS

THROUGH THE TREES

MEETING TŪTOKO

ULVA'S ISLAND

ARM STRONG

COUNTRY EXPEDITION

HAVE YIKE, WILL TRAVEL

 

Issue #45 Published Dec 2009
© Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu