Climate change and the environment are very important issues for New Zealanders - Greenpeace polling, as well as numerous other public surveys, confirm this. Political parties recognise this, and most are very happy to talk the talk on climate. However, this talk is yet to be translated into necessary action. Greenpeace aims to cut through the political rhetoric to provide an easy snap-shot of how credible each party is when it comes to climate change.
The full GreenPeace report is on PDF form which is a shame - I'd much rather it be a simple web page.
Below is my reworking of their chart - I've sorted the Parties by their response. In the original chart responses were graded; two ticks, one tick, no policy, one cross or two crosses. I've reassigned them numbers; 2, 1, 0, -1 or -2, then summed those to get an overall score.
The drawback with my approach is that it makes Act look "neutral" when in fact they're more likely to be a lot worse than National, who at least acknowledge there is a problem.
Summary of results
| | Greens | Progressives | Labour | United Future | National | | Maori Party | NZ First | Act |
| Total "score" | 35 | 16 | 12 | 8 | -6 | | - | - | - |
| Target |
| 1. Supports a global target of no more than 2 degrees warming | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. Committed to a target of 80-90% emission reductions by 2050 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Committed to a target of 25-40% emission reductions by 2020 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic emission reduction |
| 4. Policies to ensure New Zealand does not lag behind in emission reductions | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. Supports a climate friendly policy over climate damaging policy (with higher short term economic growth) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Agriculture |
| 6. Supports the farming sector (rather than taxpayers) covering the cost of agricultural emissions | 2 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. Agrees that there are immediate steps agriculture can take to reduce emissions | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transport |
| 8. Supports the Climate Change (Transport Funding) Bill which boosts public transport funding | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9. Agrees that air travel should be included in international climate change policies | 2 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Energy |
| 10. Supports 100% renewable energy by 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11. Supports the moratorium on new fossil fuel generation | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12. Committed to policies to promote renewable energy | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13. Sees no role for coal production in a climate friendly future | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14. Supports an increase in funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation strategy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Resource Management Act |
| 15. Supports the Resource Management (Climate Change) Amendment Bill | 2 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emissions Trading Scheme |
| 16. Disagrees with subsidising industrial and agricultural emissions until 2025 | 1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| International obligations |
| 17. Committed to New Zealand meeting its Kyoto obligations | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18. Committed to binding targets for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol | 2 | -1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19. Believes New Zealand should take a leadership role in international negotiations | 1 | 2 | 1 | -1 | -1 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Equitable sustainability |
| 20. Supports providing assistance for households with low incomes - directed at emissions reductions | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |