Catherine Beard

Published: January 16, 2021

Issue for Business: ExportNZ has submitted the Climate Change Commissions' draft advice to Government. The key message from ExportNZ’s submission is that the Climate Change Commission’s draft consultation does not give us the level of detail needed to get this issue in front of small to medium-sized exporters and manufacturers in New Zealand. We need to know what the various options mean in terms of costs for business. The costs are likely to flow through to business through various channels, such as the cost of electricity, fuel, and the cost of raw materials and goods particularly for companies who use energy-intensive input products such as steel, aluminum, cement etc. The Commission’s draft advice does not provide that level of detail. Until we get that detail it is hard for us to properly engage small to medium size businesses and get their feedback. The feedback we have heard already is that electricity prices are going up around 300-400%.

Action: ExportNZ met with Minister Woods to highlight its main concerns with the proposals, as well as some anecdotal feedback from businesses on issues such as the already increasing cost of electricity.

Outcome: Submission delivered