Goalposts shift

However, the reactions of the groups in the consultation suggest the goalposts have been shifted at the last minute, particularly for methane targets.

For example, Feds climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard laments, “the 10% reduction target for methane by 2030 gives us a deadline for going beyond net zero more than 20 years earlier than for any other sector of NZ”.

It appears even National’s climate change spokesman Todd Muller was left out of the loop.

In fact, Climate Change Minister James Shaw took the highly unusual step of apologising to Muller for “some of the background process here which has not gone as I would have liked nor, in fact, as I intended”.

We can only guess what he’s referring to, but it’s clear that politics are going to drive the final outcome more than science.