Petition calls for tough emissions target

MARION VAN DIJK/Nelson Mail

CLIMATE FOCUS: Nelson Environment Centre manager Katy Steele, supporter Dr Marnix Buonajuti and others at the Climate Action Campaign launch demonstrate the nearness of a climate tipping point at the Nelson market on Saturday.

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A petition addressed to Environment Minister Nick Smith asking for the Government to agree on a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 already contains hundreds of signatures.

The petition was circulated around the Nelson market on Saturday, as part of the Nelson Environment Centre's Climate Action Campaign. The campaign aims to make people aware that the Government will be setting New Zealand's 2020 carbon emissions reduction target in early August.

The level of the target is critical in ensuring whether climate tipping points are avoided or surpassed in the future. The Nelson Environment Centre says the Government should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent, which would prevent "catastrophic consequences".

A large crowd gathered around a stall at the market to find out about the campaign.

Nelson Environment Centre general manager Katy Steele said there were a few "climate skeptics" about, but most people who approached the stall were willing to sign the petition.

The target New Zealand sets will become part of the negotiations at the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December, and New Zealand and Russia are the last two countries to set their targets, Mrs Steele said. The United Kingdom has already set a target of 34 per cent and Scotland 42 per cent, she said.

As part of raising awareness over the issue, the Nelson Environment Centre will screen a movie called The Age of Stupid on July 18. It is a dramatisation of the affects of climate change. Mrs Steele said a "last minute" roadshow was being arranged by the Government on the issue, with a public meeting scheduled for July 17 at the Rutherford Hotel.

- © Fairfax NZ News