Forestry in a New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
Trading of Units
Formal transfer of units between private accounts in the New Zealand ETS Registry will be able to occur only once those units have been allocated. The owner of a pre-1990 forest wishing to deforest will be able to purchase NZUs:
- from pre-1990 forest owners who have received units but do not wish to deforest;
- from owners of post-1989 forest who have entered the ETS; or
- on the international market.
It is possible that a futures market will develop in which parties will contract for future delivery of NZUs to other parties at a fixed price.
International trading
There may be opportunities for participants to forward sell units outside the ETS to other parties or to participants joining the ETS from 2009/10.
For the first commitment period (2008–12), the ETS will be linked to the international Kyoto market. Subject to certain restrictions, NZUs will be interchangeable with Kyoto units, and participants will be able to surrender both NZUs and Kyoto units for ETS compliance purposes. Overseas sales will be subject to constraints imposed by the Kyoto Protocol’s Commitment Period Reserve. This limits the number of New Zealand’s Kyoto units that can be transferred overseas at any time to 10 percent of New Zealand’s assigned number (five times 1990 emission levels), net of purchases. Special provisions will be applied to participants in Projects to Reduce Emissions, Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements and the PFSI (see below) to enable them to sell units internationally without constraint by the Commitment Period Reserve.
Contact for Enquiries
Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
Contact this person
