New Zealanders back new international deal on climate change - even if big emitters don't sign up

New Zealanders strongly support signing up to a new international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

There is strong support (67%) for New Zealand voting for a new international agreement under which each significant emitting country agrees to limit its greenhouse gas emissions.

According to a new national survey on New Zealanders’ Attitudes to Climate Change, New Zealanders also agree slightly more than disagree with the notion that richer developed countries (including New Zealand) should reduce their emissions more than poorer but developing countries (38% agree, 24% neutral, 33% disagree,6% don’t know).

There is majority support (51% for, 22% opposed) for New Zealand signing a new international agreement on climate change even if some fast growing but poorer economies, like China, Brazil, India and Indonesia, do not agree to constrain emissions growth.

The February 9 to 11 weighted ShapeNZ survey of 2,851 New Zealanders, commissioned by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, has a maximum margin of error of + or – 1.8%.

The survey’s findings will be put before the Parliamentary select committee now reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and climate change policy.

The Business Council, whose 73 member companies’ annual sales of $59 billion equate to about 43% of gross domestic product in dollar terms, says the survey shows Kiwis strongly back being part of global deal-making to fight climate change.

A new deal, to replace the Kyoto agreement, which expires at December 31, 2012, is now being negotiated. The next major meeting on the issue is at Copenhagen in December this year.

Business Council Chief Executive Peter Neilson says the latest survey shows Kiwis know there’s a serious problem with man made global warming.

“They want to be part of the solution, even if that means carrying more of the load for developing countries whose emissions have historically been lower than those of more developed nations, including New Zealand.

“New Zealanders are saying we should sign up – even if major polluting developing nations do not. It’s a strong signal that we did the right thing 15 years ago when we signed up to Kyoto and agreed to do our bit to limit our emissions. And policy makers are on the right track if they push ahead to achieve a new agreement to help avert potentially severe effects of climate change on the planet and our trade and tourism opportunities,” Mr Neilson says. “Some say our emissions are only a small part of the world total and we should behave as if we’re powerless. In this survey Kiwis are saying we should exert all the influence we can – and also do our share to help avert a crisis which many believe has already started to develop.”