Restricted Trade In NZ Credits Possible As ETS Negotiated
August 12th, 2009
The National and Labour parties are locked in negotiations to try to achieve a bi-partisan approach to an amended Emissions Trading Scheme, while the Govt is considering a fixed carbon price for the ETS and a restriction on the sale of NZ Units offshore. Global carbon markets-watcher Point Carbon News has published a members’ only report on the Aust and NZ and carbon markets and suggests Environment Minister Nick Smith is looking at a fixed carbon price of around $15 and does not want international demand for NZU’s raising the price of carbon in the NZ economy. Labour’s climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel indicates support for this position, but suggests an exemption should be made for plantation forestry, because forestry is already in the ETS and expectations that NZU cross-border tradeability will be available are built into foresters’ business plans.
Chauvel says “we would have to give foresters an exemption in some way, maybe by creating a special unit for them.” While it is more likely to be a Govt decision than a Select Committee recommendation which decides these issues, the debate on the ETS goes on behind closed doors among members of the Emissions Trading Scheme review Select Committee, chaired by United Future MP Peter Dunne. Watch this space for an outcome before the end of the month.
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