Advanced Search | Help
The Climate Change Response Act 2002 requires a review of New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to be completed before the end of 2011. The review is being conducted by an independent Review Panel, who will report to the Minister for Climate Change Issues by 30 June 2011.
The ETS Review Panel has released an issues statement for consultation. For more information, visit the Government Climate Change website
Agriculture will enter fully into the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme from 2015. Compulsory reporting of emissions begins in 2012, and voluntary reporting in 2011.
Important update:
On 23 September 2010 the Government made regulations that set out:
Visit the Regulations page for more information.
A Guide to Reporting for Agricultural Activities under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (March 2011)
A Guide to Agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme (November 2010)
The ETS for Landowners: Impacts and Opportunities - this short document briefly explains how the the Emissions Trading Scheme applies for Forestry and Agriculture
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is the price based mechanism for greenhouse gases and is a key part of overall climate change policy.
The NZ ETS (Agriculture) accounts for two of the greenhouse gases closely associated with pastoral agriculture, horticulture and arable production: methane and nitrous oxide.
With some exemptions, participants for agriculture are meat processors, milk or colostrum processors, exporters of live animals, fertiliser importers and manufacturers, and egg producers. Farmers and growers are not required to register and participate directly in the NZ ETS.
Agricultural participants can voluntarily report emissions in 2011 and have to report emissions from 2012 though to 2014, but they are not required to pay for emissions in these years. The requirement to surrender emission units under the scheme does not commence until 2015.
Entry in the ETS
See the Forestry in the ETS for additional information
The principle behind the NZ ETS is that emitters of greenhouse gases must either reduce their emissions or purchase New Zealand Units (NZ ETS) to pay for those emissions. NZ ETS can also be earned through forestry plantings as they sequester carbon.
The scheme will be reviewed by an independent panel and this is likely to occur every five years. The first review will be in 2011 and will look at a number of factors, including how New Zealand's trade competitors are addressing their emissions, what mitigation technologies are available, and whether the allocation path or other settings might need to be adjusted.
Agricultural participants will be eligible to receive an allocation of emissions units from the New Zealand Government from 2015 to help offset the cost of participation in the NZ ETS.
The allocation will be provided on an output intensity basis. This means that a participant's allocation will vary with output. The assistance level will be 90 per cent of an emissions baseline and will phase out at -1.3 per cent per annum from 2016. The baseline will be the industry average emissions per unit of output for a given year or years. The baseline will be established by regulation and will be subject to consultation.
The allocation will be uncapped, meaning that there is no set limit on the number of units that may be allocated.
A research and development programme is underway to identify technological solutions to agriculture emissions. This programme is supported by the Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research and the Global Alliance on Agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation research.
There are a few options available for landowners to mitigate the impact on their farms at present, including:
The Agriculture Emissions Trading Scheme Advisory Committee has been set up to advise the Government on technical and practical aspects of implementing agriculture into the NZ ETS.
The eight member committee listed below includes representatives from the pastoral sector, research groups and Māori.
Katherine Rich (Chair) – Chief Executive of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council. Harry Clark – Director of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre. Keith Cooper – Chief Executive of Silver Fern Farms Ltd. Edward Ellison – sheep and beef farmer; of Ngai Tahu and Te Atiawa descent. Mark Leslie – Upper North Island Operations Manager at Fonterra; Chair of the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium. Roger Pikia – Chief Executive of Te Arawa Group Holdings Ltd; of Tainui and Te Arawa descent. Simon Tucker – General Manager of Policy and Advocacy at DairyNZ. Stuart Wright – farmer; Chair of the Foundation for Arable Research; board member for the Ravensdown Fertiliser Co-Operative.
The Committee will serve for two years from 1 October 2010. Click here to download its terms of reference.
The Agriculture ETS Advisory Committee’s first report.
The Agriculture ETS Advisory Committee has produced its first report that will assist the Government’s thinking around agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The Government will carefully consider the recommendations in the report.
The work of the Agriculture ETS Advisory Committee is one part of a larger programme of work that Government is undertaking on the Emissions Trading Scheme. All recommendations will be considered before the Government makes any decisions.