Introduction
This working paper provides additional information on the issues raised in the "Issues and Options for Land use and Forests" section of the Government's climate change consultation document - Kyoto Protocol: Ensuring our Future.
Before New Zealand can ratify the Kyoto Protocol, we need to think about a legislative framework to manage greenhouse gas sink activities. A fully operational system for managing sinks is not required to ratify the Kyoto Protocol; however, work should be sufficiently advanced to lend credibility to the ratification process. In this paper two particular significant issues are discussed; who should own sink credits and who should have responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions from forestry. The paper sets out some possible options and some possible elements for a system to manage sinks. Your views on these issues will help inform the Government's final policy package for sinks.
For further information:Other documents on forestry sinks issues are: Forest Sinks and the Kyoto Protocol - An Information Document and A Compendium of Submissions Received on Forest Sinks and the Kyoto Protocol - An Information Document. These papers are available on the MAF and New Zealand Climate Change websites, see: www.maf.govt.nz or www.climatechange.govt.nz An additional paper presents the current state of negotiations at the United Nations on sinks issues. This paper is of particular relevance for the definitions of 'forest', the activities of 'afforestation', 'reforestation' and 'deforestation' and for the accounting treatment of forest sinks. The current negotiating text is available from: http://www.unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop6/inf03v02.pdf |
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