New Zealand minister to discuss climate change in Australia, U.S.

Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser would meet Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt in Melbourne Friday to discuss domestic climate policies following Malcolm Turnbull's appointment as prime minister and his cabinet reshuffle.

Turnbull is widely perceived to be more receptive to measures to deal with climate change than his predecessor Tony Abbott.

Groser would then travel to the U.S. to take part as a special guest in the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in New York, where the world's 17 largest economies discuss international negotiations for a new climate change agreement.

"While New Zealand is not one of the major economies, our ideas and contributions to the negotiations are highly valued," Groser said in a statement Friday.

"These ministerial meetings are particularly important ahead of the Paris climate conference in December, as they will have a significant influence on the shape of the final outcome."

A coalition of environmental organizations on Friday called on New Zealand Prime Minister John Key not to attend the Paris climate summit, and to pull Tim Groser and the entire New Zealand delegation from the two weeks of talks.

"New Zealand is proving one of the biggest blocks to a meaningful global deal in December. In the interests of a successful outcome and for the good of the climate, we're asking that our delegation not go," Greenpeace climate campaigner Steve Abel said in a statement.

As well as having one of the weakest climate action plans and one of the poorest emission reduction records among developed nations, the New Zealand delegation also wanted emission targets to be non-binding under any agreement, meaning governments could walk away from their targets at any time, he said.

Cindy Baxter, of Coal Action Network Aotearoa, said the New Zealand delegation's remit would be to prevent a Paris agreement that committed New Zealand to more climate action.

"They'll be doing everything they can to bring everyone down to New Zealand's level, in which case the world will be heading for at least 3 to 4 degrees of warming," Baxter said.

In July, Groser announced an "ambitious" target to reduce emissions to 30 percent below the 2005 levels by 2030, which was equivalent to 11 percent below 1990 levels a target that critics branded inadequate and unambitious.

New Zealand, which has one of the world's highest per-capita emissions levels, has also been criticized for failing to have any plan to meet its target. Endi