John Carnegie is chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa. Photo: Supplied / Rob Tucker
An oil and gas lobbyist was appointed to the board of the country's main energy-saving agency, despite having slammed the agency's clean energy grants as harming the fossil fuel industry.
Former Energy Minister Simeon Brown added John Carnegie to the board of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) in December 2024.
Carnegie had criticised one of the agency's functions - giving out grants helping companies get off coal and gas - because it was shrinking demand for fossil fuels.
He was speaking as head of New Zealand's peak fossil fuel lobby group Energy Resources Aotearoa, a role he still holds.
In a July interview on online channel The Platform, Carnegie called grants for moving to electric boilers "state-subsidised demand destruction".
Host Michael Laws asked him about energy security for winter 2025, calling winter 2024 "one of the coldest on record". Meteorological record shows winter 2024 was the third-warmest on record.
Carnegie was asked how the oil and gas industry could feel confident searching for more oil and gas when government policy kept changing.
He replied: "The question I'm being asked, and it will be the first question the new minister is asked, is what can he do to avoid a policy flip flop in, let's be optimistic, nine years time, maybe six years time," he said [if voters elected Labour].
"[Oil and gas companies] are asking what will happen in six or nine years if we get someone who basically a) wants to reintroduce Onslow [a massive pumped hydro electricity scheme], who basically wants to go back to the old policies so, b) wants to make fossil fuel technology harder to consent, reintroduces a 100 percent renewable electricity target, reintroduces GIDI... that was the state subsidised demand destruction... that's the question investors are going to be asking," he said.
GIDI was the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry fund, under which EECA gave grants to heavy industrial companies to subsidise the costs of converting coal and gas boilers to electric or biomass.
GIDI has been scrapped. But EECA's core functions still reduce demand for oil and gas.
These include administering loans for building EV chargers and giving grants for companies to ditch diesel trucks in favour of electric or hydrogen options.
The agency's official purpose is "to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable sources of energy."
Unanswered questions
Carnegie's appointment makes him the second fossil fuel industry member on EECA's seven-person board.
Fossil gas body and gas industry regulator Gas Industry Co already had a representative on the board in the form of its chief executive Andrew Knight, the former chief executive of New Zealand Oil & Gas.
RNZ asked Simeon Brown if he was aware of the Carnegie's comments when he appointed him, and whether those views were at odds with governing a renewables-boosting agency.
New Energy Minister Simon Watts responded with a statement on the government's behalf.
"I agree with Minister Brown that it is important to have a range of expertise on the EECA board to help drive EECA to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable sources for energy," he said.
"This government is fuel agnostic and it is important all sectors have a voice as we work towards our goal of net-zero by 2050," said Watts.
Asked if Brown was aware of the comments when he made the appointment, Watts said he had not discussed that with Brown.
Watts did not answer questions on whether EECA or officials at the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had raised concerns.
Carnegie responded via a representative to say he would not be commenting.
His representative referred RNZ to MBIE, which ran the board's recruitment process.
MBIE replied that it had "carried out the appropriate due diligence checks".
"The minister made the decisions on who to appoint."
It did not answer whether it was aware of the comments, if so what steps it had taken to avoid a conflict interest or whether EECA had raised any concerns about the appointment.
MBIE said RNZ would need to pursue these answers by lodging a request under the Official Information Act.
EECA, meanwhile, sent a statement from chief executive Marcos Pelenur.
"EECA has seven board members, from a variety of backgrounds. They are appointed by, and report to, the Minister for Energy, upon advice from MBIE.
"MBIE's process ensures board members are aware of their responsibilities. EECA does not provide advice or comments on any appointment.
"EECA's mandate, as set out in the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, is to encourage and promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable sources of energy.
"Our programmes remain in line with this mandate, and are focused on removing or reducing barriers to the market uptake of energy efficiency and clean fuels."
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