'No surprise' as New Zealand gets yet another fossil award

New Zealand will not be changing its emissions reduction target despite earning a "fossil of the day" award at the Copenhagen climate change negotiations.

New Zealand received a third-place dishonour from pressure group Climate Action Network at Copenhagen yesterday – a cup filled with coal and adorned with a toy dinosaur.

The fossil award was for Prime Minister John Key's comments in Parliament this week that he would not increase the country's 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

New Zealand is offering to reduce carbon emissions by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of 1990 levels, depending on the offers made by other developed nations.

Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said yesterday that there was no chance New Zealand would agree to increase its offer because it already represented an effective 34 per cent to 44 per cent cut on present emissions.

That was because New Zealand's emissions had increased by 24 per cent since 1990.

"Ten to 20 per cent below 1990 levels is a big ask, and it's simply unrealistic to stretch us any further."

Smith was not surprised New Zealand had been handed a fossil award. "At every climate change conference I've been to in the past five years New Zealand has scored a fossil award from an NGO."

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the award undermined New Zealand's credibility going into the negotiations.

Key's remarks to Parliament had damaged its negotiating position.

They made New Zealand seem inflexible and unwilling to tackle climate change, Norman said.

It was worse for New Zealand because its "clean green" image left it further to fall.

Smith leaves today for Copenhagen, where he will represent New Zealand at talks to cut world carbon emissions, which begin on Monday.

He was "cautiously optimistic" of progress when the ministerial meetings began next week.

Key departs for Copenhagen on Tuesday.

- © Fairfax NZ News