Rotorua Regional Forestry ETS Meeting
10 October 2007
Key Themes
Introduction: These key themes are a record of points raised by participants at the meeting – they are not the consensus of the participants.
• ETS in general:
• A comment that the ETS is the way to go to put price signals out.
• Concern re international ‘hot air’ units affecting the price of carbon.
• Desire for rules based on practical realities.
• Concern that ETS design around 1989/1990 forest split could be nonsense post-Kyoto.
• A comment that forests’ transition into the ETS should relate to the end of current rotation period.
• Desire to address climate change and to benefit the environment.
• A comment about the inequitable treatment between farming and forestry regarding the affect on land value disparity between the sectors.
• Post 1989 (voluntary participation in ETS):
• If not participating in the scheme, concern that future Governments may not guarantee to cover future liabilities.
• Difficult decision about participating, if have single age-class forests.
• A comment that foresters may be forced to accept credits and will then hold them until harvest. This scenario affects the liquidity of the market, and should be considered if government is relying on such credits to come onto the market to provide liquidity.
• Liabilities:
• Concern from a landowner, with forest on their land being harvested by a separate forestry right, being left with the liability. They cannot afford to replant, as this would result in no income for 25 years and they need to meet commitments.
• Desire to be able to transfer liability between blocks of land. Credits can be transferred, but liabilities cannot. A comment on the desire to replant the same area as harvested, but elsewhere, perhaps with penalty e.g. additional 20%.
• Questions about liabilities for new permanent roading, and for district plan setbacks (streams and highways).
• Risks and costs:
• Importance of flexibility of land use change.
• Concern that forest sink credits may receive low discounted price.
• Important that bureaucracy and form-filling is minimised in administering the scheme.
• Question about getting the forestry ETS system set up in time.
• Tax Issues:
• Questions about tax treatment of deforestation.
• Unfair to be taxed on retained credits = another burden on forest investors.
• Methodologies for carbon measurement:
• Methodologies under development need to be acceptable internationally.
• Question about measurement of numerous/ mixed species.
• Inventory (via C-change) can be done cheaply.
• Indigenous forests:
• Question about when farmers can register indigenous forests.
• Afforestation Grant Scheme (AGS):
• Need for a return on investment to drive afforestation.
• AGS will be useful for small growers.
• Interest in the level of the grant.
• East Coast Forestry Project:
• Concern expressed about reduced encouragement to convert land out of farming.
• Need to be able to afford to achieve the afforestation area objective.
• Need research into better-rooted species than radiata.
• Consultation and submissions:
• A view that the documents should have been sent to all previous submitters.
• Timeframe is too tight to make various submissions by the end of October.
• A call for extended time for making submissions, given that some regional forestry meetings are 1 or 2 days before 31 October deadlines.
Contact for Enquiries
Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
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