National will vote in favour of two sizable pieces of climate change fighting legislation
This morning, National Leader Simon Bridges confirmed National would be voting with the Government on the Zero Carbon bill's second reading. Photo / Paul Taylor The National Party will vote in favour of two sizable pieces of climate-change fighting legislation but will continue to fight for substantial changes to both bills. All 55 National MPs will vote for the second reading of the Zero Carbon Act this afternoon. They will also this afternoon vote with the Government in the first reading of the bill which could see farmers hauled into the ETS by 2022 if they don't abide by a new set of emissions rules. READ MORE: One billion at risk: How climate change is transforming our oceans and mountains Covering climate now: How much do you know about climate change? Take our test Premium - Herald podcast: Why we can't risk normalising climate change Climate change: How hard will extreme weather hit NZ? National has spoken out strongly about aspects of both pieces of legislation in the past. The party voted for the first reading of the Zero Carbon bill so when it got to the select committee process where it is scrutinised and tinkered with by MPs they could make some changes. The bill came back from select committee last month but the controversial biological methane targets which had to be reduced by 24-47 per cent below 2017 levels by 2050 remained in place. National's Climate Change spokesman Scott Simpson voted National would keep fighting this target as it wanted it to be at the lower end of that scale. This morning, National Leader Simon Bridges confirmed National would be voting with the Government on the bill's second reading. "We take climate change seriously but ... we're not prepared to see a pilling on of tax and costs on everyday New Zealanders." After the second reading, National want to implement more changes to the legislation, including that the independent Climate Change Committee to be able to set to biological methane target, not the Government. The bill was meant to be law in April this year, but has been delayed. It is being pushed through the House this week and will have its final reading on Thursday. Also on the Government's agenda today is the Emissions Trading Reform Amendment Bill. Last month, the Government announced that it would be partnering with the agriculture sector and working with them to reduce on-farm emissions, instead of hauling them into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). If the Government is happy with the sector's progress, they would not be pulled into the ETS in 2025. But, it officials were not happy with progress, farmers could be hauled into the scheme by as early as 2022. A spokeswoman for Bridges this afternoon confirmed to the Herald that National would be supporting this bill through its first reading. National's promised support of the bills comes as US President Donald Trump moves to formally exit the Paris climate agreement, making the United States the only country in the world that will not participate in the pact. It had previously indicated it would not be supporting the agreement, but today made it official. New programme for preschool children about to be trialled in New Zealand.