According to a letter from the Climate Change Minister, a government proposal to limit permanent exotic forests has been abandoned.
Earlier this year, the government suggested that exotic trees in permanent forests would not be eligible to earn and sell carbon units.
Rural communities and the Climate Change Commission are major opponents of exotic planting. But because it could be planting pines hugely profitableforest rangers and landowners – including Maori leaders – strongly opposed the proposal.
A letter from Climate Change Secretary James Shaw indicates that the latter group has been successful, at least in part. Starting next year, owners of permanent exotic forests will likely be able to sell the carbon absorbed by their trees under the Emissions Trading Scheme (or ETS).
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Support for the pine tree is a recent development. Rural Communities protested against farmers-to-pine conversions, driven by the increasing profits that can be made from the ETS.
In addition, the Climate Change Commission has repeatedly warned against a climate strategy that relies too heavily on planting exotic trees to reduce emissions. Instead, the government should focus on reducing the sources of greenhouse pollution and encourage native trees to absorb any residual greenhouse gas, the committee stressed.
However, the design of the ETS runs counter to the desired approach of the Committee.
The rules require polluters to surrender one NZ unit for every tonne of emissions they produce. Some units are donated for free by the government, others can be purchased at auction. Finally, polluters can purchase NZ Units from forest owners, which is equivalent to the tons of carbon their trees have absorbed.
These were mostly from harvested forests, earning units up to a certain number of years (simultaneous growth and logging cycles).
ROBERT KITCHEN/Things
Climate Change Secretary James Shaw has sent a letter to all those who have submitted the proposal.
In 2018, the coalition government of the first term suggested permanent forests should also be able to earn NZ units, for their entire lifespan. Government made no distinction between native forests and exotics such as pine, redwood or eucalyptus.
This option will take effect from January next year. With exotic species such as pines and redwoods growing fast and the market price of a NZ unit increasing above $70, landowners and investors foresaw large profits. Natives are relatively less profitable.
Then – after the commission had spoken out strongly against alien species – the government in March suggested the permanent category would be open only to native forests.
There was some support for the idea of rural groups such as 50 shades of green and native forest advocates.
But there was relative loud opposition of forestry bodies and Māori landowners.
Today, the authors of the ministry’s consultation on the proposal received a letter from Shaw indicating that the government had changed its mind.
The letter, co-signed by Forestry Secretary Stuart Nash, said the government will “take more time to fully consider options for the ETS”.
“While all decisions are ultimately up to the cabinet, this means it is unlikely that we will propose to close the permanent category to exotics as of January 1, 2023.”
In the letter, ministers said they were “very encouraged” by the progress made with an industry code of conduct.
Shaw and Nash remained committed to ensuring that forests are well managed and have “positive long-term outcomes” – and that ETS prices remain stable. The government wants to manage the risks to rural communities, they wrote.
stuff contacted both ministers to confirm the accuracy of the information contained in the letter. Shaw was unavailable for an interview prior to publication. Nash was also unavailable because he was abroad and about to board the plane, his office said.
The day before, the Climate Change Commission reiterated its position that the ETS should not encourage mass planting of exotic forests. The comments were made by chairman Rod Carr as he advised the government to quote the price of NZ units sold at auction a longer rein.
“The NZ ETS currently makes no distinction between removing carbon from trees or reducing emissions. Unless addressed, the NZ ETS is likely to deliver primarily new plantation forestry rather than gross emissions reductions,” Carr said in a statement. “This would ultimately put our economy at a competitive disadvantage to a low-carbon global economy and shift costs to future generations.” .”
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