Policy Development

On this page

1. Emissions Trading Scheme

• Submission Points
• Climate Change Bill Submissions - due 29 February 2008
• Climate Change Bill introduced - 4 December 2007
• Opportunities to be involved and to find out more
• CDNs response
• The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
• CDNs Principles for Emissions Trading

2. Update to the New Zealand Transport Strategy

Submission Points

CDN held a workshop in early February on the Climate Change Bill. From this we will produce submission points to assist with your submission writing. These will be available by mid-February.

Submissions on the Climate Change Bill

13 December 2007: Submissions on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill close on 29 February 2008.

The government has produced a fact-sheet on the Bill which available from here (http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate/emissions-trading/13-climate-change-bill-dec07/13-climate-change-bill-dec07.pdf).

Climate Change Bill introduced - 4 December 2007

Environmentalists have welcomed the introduction of legislation that will place a 10-year ban on new fossil-fuel power stations though note gaps remain in the policy. A major business group says the ban is unnecessary. Read more here. The Bill is available from the Parliament website.

Opportunity for engagement

The Government’s recently-announced Framework for an Emissions Trading Scheme is coming under sustained attack from the major greenhouse gas emitters. See our Act Now page to find out how to encourage the Government to stand firm on introducing the scheme, and improve its weaknesses.

CDN member group responses

The Climate Defence Network strongly supports the development of an Emissions Trading Scheme in New Zealand. However, the proposed scheme does not adequately meet the standard required to achieve sufficient and equitable emissions reductions. See our Principles for an Emissions Trading Scheme.

ECO Welcomes Greenhouse Gas Control Measures, disappointed by delays, allocation (PDF, 23KB).

Greenpeace: Climate and taxpayers pay for big business to pollute (PDF, 25KB).

Oxfam welcomes emissions trading scheme, but urges swifter implementation action (PDF, 25KB).

Government announces Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) – 20 September 2007

The government has announced how the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme is likely to look.

In summary
The principles of the scheme announced by the government are:

Starting date
The government proposes that although all sectors will eventually be required to join the scheme, the start dates will differ. They are proposed as follows:

• Forestry from 1 January 2008
• Liquid fossil fuels from 1 January 2009
• Electricity generation, industrial heat and power and other industrial processes from 1 January 2010
• Agriculture, waste, and all other emissions from 1 January 2013

Cap on emissions
There is no ‘cap’ on emissions in New Zealand. However, for each unit of emissions over the amount we were allocated under the Kyoto Protocol, we must buy a unit on the international market.

Allocation of allowable emissions
The decided amount of allowable emissions will be allocated through a mix of gifting (free allocation) or sale (auctioning). This will very between sectors. What has been suggested is as follows:

• Forestry – Free allocation
• Transport – No free allocation
• Stationary Energy – No free allocation
• Industrial Processes – Free allocation of up to 90% of 2005 stationary energy and process emissions for firms facing tough international competition
• Agriculture – Free allocation of 90% of 2005 emissions

Targets
Targets that were announced were:

• By 2020 - Achieve a net increase of 250 000 hectares in forest area.
• By 2025 – 90% of electricity is generated from renewable sources.
• By 2040 – 50% reduction in per capita emissions from transport.
• To be one of the first countries to introduce electric vehicles widely.

See the government’s climate change website for information about the proposed scheme.

See David Parker’s announcement of the scheme

Want to know more? See the government’s new climate change website for fast facts and more detailed information (link to PDF).

CDN’s Principles for an Emissions Trading Scheme

At a workshop in July CDN developed 7 key principles for an emissions trading scheme. Such a scheme must:

1. Drive real reductions in New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions at a rate which matches that required by the international scientific consensus on the level of emissions reductions needed to avoid dangerous climate change.
   A reduction in emissions must come first and offsets second.
   The scheme must not simply halt or slow the increase, or decrease ‘net’ emissions through offsets while allowing gross emissions to continue to grow.
2. Include all sectors and all emissions, in the short to medium term, on equal terms, and with a clearly stated timetable.
3. Expose all emitters to the world price on carbon as soon as possible. The cost of Kyoto compliance should be born by emitters, not taxpayers.
4. Include a clearly stated timetable for progressive reductions in the proposed initial cap over the first 5 to 10 years, with further goals, targets and/or milestones through to at least 2050.
5. Not allow gratis allocations of emissions permits (‘grandparenting’). All permits should be auctioned.
6. Recognise that emissions pricing is necessary but not sufficient for effective and rapid emissions reduction. It must form part of a comprehensive policy package for reducing or replacing the use of emissions-producing technologies.
7. Use the revenue from auctioning of permits to support other measures for mitigating or adapting to climate change, including support for those likely to face hardship as a result of climate change and its mitigation.

Update to the New Zealand Transport Strategy

The Minister of Transport has recently released the Update to the New Zealand Transport Strategy. This contains detail on how the Government plans to meet its target to halve per capita domestic transport GHG emissions by 2040.

Submissions on this document close on 15 February.

The document is available from www.transport.govt.nz/update-of-the-new-zealand-transport-strategy-2/.

A press release by Jeanette Fitzsimmons looking at the sustainability aspects of the document is available from www.greens.org.nz/searchdocs/PR11474.html.