Effect of Proposed Lignite Mining Projects on Green House Gas Emissions - Dr Kennedy Graham

Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister of Energy and Resources: By how many tonnes would Solid Energy's proposed lignite projects in Southland increase New Zealand's gross greenhouse gas emissions in 2020?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) : I understand that this morning Solid Energy informed the Commerce Committee that depending on the scale of technology used, gross emissions could be 10 million to 20 million tonnes per annum. I also understand that Solid Energy has said on many occasions that taking full responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions is a key consideration in its lignite developments and it expects its lignite-based plants to achieve full carbon compliance.

Solid Energy defends its lignite proposals by Claire Browning

In which Solid Energy defends its lignite proposals before a Parliamentary select committee, defines sustainability loosely, and fails to define some other things at all, except the megabucks

I sat in on Parliament's financial review of Solid Energy yesterday, and heard CEO Dr Don Elder tell the committee that his company — whoops, our company — meets New Zealand’s, and the world’s, sustainability expectations.

That’s sustainability as redefined by Solid Energy.

Southland has, said Elder, world-scale quantity and quality of lignite. On today’s prices, let alone projected future prices, it would earn trillions and squillions of dollars, with which might be bought: hip operations, teachers, rural broadband rollouts galore. A pony from Santa for every child for Christmas. That kind of thing.

I didn’t write the dollar-numbers down. I tried, but the CEO had the bit between his teeth, and he was galloping.

Signs of Change - Keynote - Kennedy Graham - Part 2

"My vote is for Ecan"

In his general debate speech on Wednesday, Green MP Kennedy Graham launched a blistering attack on the government's plans to overthrow Canterbury's elected regional council and replace it with an appointed dictator:

the Creech report is a shoddy piece of work and fails rudimentary tests of professional standards. First, the report lacks intellectual integrity. It criticises Environment Canterbury for being science-driven and not science-informed. The Creech report is politically-driven and not politically-informed. If it were politically informed, it would acknowledge that democracy is bigger than business; that the subsidiarity principle is bigger than government; and that one does not replace elected councillors with appointees of central government, just because they are making decisions one might not like. That is political arrogance of the highest order.

Greens Kennedy Graham on government Energy Strategy

Dr Kennedy Graham interviewed by TV 7 on New National Government Energy Strategy

Imagining a green manifesto

by Claire Browning

The Greens’ policy platform needs as much rebuilding as any other party’s, to make it strong and sustainable


When I was a child, before I put away childish things, about, well, a year or so ago, I used to think that eventually, if I kept my ears open, the Greens would explain themselves to me; if I kept my eyes open, I would figure them out. They had a communications problem, I thought.
I was wrong. Communication is not the problem. In fact, I think that the Greens present a pretty true picture of themselves, and get reported pretty accurately, on the whole.

Quake work Sunday: Plans for next week

Saturday I did volunteer work in Beckenham, shovelling liquefacted soil.

Sunday, we got a group of about 20 Greens (including Metiria) to volunteer through the Student Army.
Metiria and Worik had spent Saturday enticing Dunedin firms into donating wheelbarrows etc.
Then brought them, plus utensils plus food, up to the sister city in a rollicking SUV.
Because we were a large group, we deployed not on the buses but as a separate group with our own transport.

Climate change, lignite, and Solid Energy: Searching for truth and reason

Matters are coming to a head, on the lignite saga in Southland.

As climate change intensifies around the world and not least here in New Zealand, our national responsibility to respond proportionate to our size and liability increases commensurately.

The UN has prescribed a national emission reduction target of 25% to 40% off 1990 levels by 2020 for the rich (‘developed’) countries. Few have responded adequately. New Zealand, displaying the foresight of the Dodo, has committed to 10% to 20%, conditional. While that is shameful, let us explore the implications of how (not) to get there.

Electricity Industry Bill 2nd Reading Dr Kennedy Graham

This Bill is not the first, and will almost certainly not be the last, piece of legislation that seeks to tinker with the NZ electricity sector.

The generation and transmission, distribution and retailing of electricity has become one of the jabberwockies of the NZ economy.

- The policy developments over the past 20 years reflect deeply held, if dimly perceived, points of economic ideology.
- Their structural implications have made for labyrinthine institutional relationships between entities that pretend to compete and cooperate at one and the same time, since the market signals conveyed by the sedimentary layers of legislation remain unclear on whether they are to compete or cooperate with one another.
- Their retail pricing has become a political perennial in this country, ranking as one of the most sensitive electoral issues each time round.