Information document: New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme Draft Forestry Allocation Plan and Deforestation Exemption Policies for Pre-1990 Forest Land
Glossary of Terms
Carbon credit
A tradable unit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. (See "New Zealand Unit").
Carbon stock
The total carbon in a forest including stemwood, bark, branches, leaves, litter, woody debris, stumps and roots.
Commitment period (CP)
A range of years within which Parties to the Kyoto Protocol are required to meet their greenhouse gas emissions target. The target is averaged over the years of the commitment period. The first commitment period is 2008-12. The targets are set relative to greenhouse gas emissions in the base year (in New Zealand's case, 1990), multiplied by five.
Crown forest licence land
Between 1990 and 1992 the Crown sold the majority of its exotic plantation forests but retained the land for use in future Treaty of Waitangi settlements. This land is now Crown forest land. The Crown granted Crown forest licences to private companies to plant and harvest trees.
Emissions
The release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases (GHGs)
Greenhouse gases are constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. Greenhouse gas emissions covered by the emissions limitation or reduction commitment for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
Kyoto Protocol
A protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that includes emissions limitation or reduction commitments for ratifying countries listed in its Annex B (developed countries and economies in transition) (see http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html for further information).
New Zealand Emissions Unit Register (NZEUR)
See www.eur.govt.nz.
New Zealand Unit (NZU)
An instrument created under law that can be bought and sold, and used to meet an entity's obligations under an emissions trading scheme. In the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, one New Zealand Unit corresponds to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Sometimes called an 'emission unit.'
Sequestration
The uptake and storage of carbon. Carbon can be sequestered by plants and soil and in underground/deep sea reservoirs.
Shapefile
An electronic file that is used for digital mapping and is a standard mapping format used within the New Zealand forest industry. It is a data storage format for storing the location, shape and attributes (characteristics and properties) of geographic features. The Climate Change Regulations 2008 use the term "Geospatial mapping information" to refer to what is commonly known as a shapefile. Schedule 5 of the Regulations provide more detail on the information that a shapefile must contain. For people who do not have access to the software necessary to create a shapefile, MAF provides an online mapping tool for land owners to meet this requirement.
Attribute data is what is known about a feature. Examples of attributes include address, name, size, value etc. Attributes are usually stored in databases or spreadsheets and can be linked to Geographical Information System (GIS) spatial data.
Contact for Enquiries
Emissions Trading Scheme
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 1127
Wellington
Or call us on 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
