Pressure is mounting on New Zealand's government to set significant carbon emission reduction targets out of responsibility to the Pacific community.
This week at the Pacific Forum summit in Cairns, small island states called for New Zealand and Australia to cut emissions by 45 percent by 2020 - about double what Wellington has indicated it can achieve.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's Green Party has released a study which sharply contradicts recent government claims that it cannot afford higher reduction targets.
The Green Party's Russel Norman says New Zealand could reduce its emissions by 40 percent under 1990 levels by 2020 through a series of reforms in the forestry, transport, energy and agricultural sectors.
"It is just a simple matter of responsibility for our region. Our community in New Zealand is the South Pacific. If we care about our community then we don't make their countries go underwater, and so New Zealand needs to play its part in the global move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to stop the inundation of some of our Pacific Island nations."
Russel Norman
