The ACT Party says working towards 100% renewable electricity is a "dumb idea" which would "push power prices up for little environmental gain".
It comes after the Government announced it would collaborate with BlackRock - an American multinational investment company - to create a $2 billion climate infrastructure investment fund.
The fund would be aimed at helping New Zealand become one of the first countries in the world to reach 100% renewable energy.
But ACT leader David Seymour said New Zealanders didn't want to be "subject to a 'world first' climate change experiment that will mean the government micromanages their lives”.
“This is an issue of values. Labour says we want to control your lives. We’ll tell you what kind of fuels to use, tell you what kind of car to drive, tell you how long your showers should be.
“Effectively banning people from using fossil fuels is virtue signalling on a global scale using other people’s money."
He said ACT's position was "you can use cheap and effective fossil fuels if you want and you’ll pay for them through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)".
“100% renewables is a dumb idea anyway. The Interim Climate Change Commission said the plan to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035 would push power prices up for little environmental gain."
Seymour said the "real reason" it was difficult to invest and develop new energy sources in New Zealand was "red tape and regulation".
“The Overseas Investment Act – the most onerous foreign investment law in the developed world – stops people from investing in the first place.
“If overseas investors do get in the door, the 900-page RMA stops them from developing anything.
“Then there are archaic restrictions on genetic modification that prevents scientific innovation."
Seymour said ACT's climate policy would "tie New Zealand’s emission cap to our trading partners’ emissions, allow people to make their own choices in view of the carbon price that creates, and ensure political durability by giving all New Zealanders a stake in the ETS as recipients of a carbon tax credit".
The party also wanted to "ditch" the Zero Carbon Act and the Climate Change Commission.
“There’s no point being a world leader if the country is bankrupted in the process."
Earlier, National leader Christopher Luxon said the National Party welcomed BlackRock's investment, but there remained challenges with timely consenting for infrastructure.
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