By Samantha Hayes
Environmentalists are disappointed with the target New Zealand has pledged to combat climate change.
Groups like Oxfam say we have missed a unique opportunity to show global leadership on the issue, but Prime Minister John Key has defended his actions in Copenhagen, claiming we are doing enough.
New Zealand is one of 55 countries that have signed up to the Copenhagen Accord, an agreement that was coupled together on the final day of the conference by US president Barack Obama.
We are sticking to the Government's target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 10 to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The problem? Not everybody is playing by the same rules.
Developing countries' goals are voluntary, and the rest have a range of different targets.
The US says it will reduce emissions by 17 percent of 2005 levels; Australia by between 5 and 25 percent of 2000 levels; and the European Union by 20 percent of 1990 levels - but promising an increase to 30 percent if other countries are similarly ambitious.
Mr Key had a mandate from Cabinet to increase New Zealand's target.
"In theory, Cabinet has delegated authority to me and some of the other ministers to make that call," he said at the time of the conference.
But he chose not to.
"It's disappointing that New Zealand hasn't done that," says Oxfam's Barry Coates. "It's also disappointing that other countries haven't done that."
In Copenhagen, Mr Key also had a budget for between $10 and $50 million to add to a fund for developing countries - but he didn't use it.
"We need to work our way through it, but at this point we haven't even had an opportunity for [climate change negotiator] Tim Groser to sit down with other countries and start the negotiating process," says Mr Key.
The United Nations says the pledges relate to countries that make up 78 percent of global emissions, a far cry from the progress that was expected.
"Copenhagen was not successful," says Climate Change Minister Nick Smith. "New Zealand was disappointed in that, the accord that we have signed up for is not ideal."
The next round of formal negotiations is in Germany at the end of May, but the next major conference is not until December in Mexico. Oxfam says by that time, 100,000 people may have died from climate change-related causes.
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