David Rhodes, chief executive of the New Zealand Forest Owners Association says, “The decision to include Kyoto forests in what the Australians are calling their ‘carbon pollution reduction scheme’ from its start in 2010, will help build investor confidence in forest carbon sequestration world-wide. It is good news for New Zealand owners of post-1989 forests, many of who are eager to take part in emission unit trading.
“We also note that the Australians will not be imposing a land-use change tax for the deforestation of pre-1990 forests. Instead, they will be looking at incentives for land owners to retain their land in forests.” He believes this contrasts with the approach of the New Zealand government, which he says has made owners of pre-1990 forests liable for large taxes if they change land-use, as well as for the costs and hassles associated with monitoring carbon stocks.
Forestry owners claim the Australian’s promise of measures to maintain the international competitiveness of trade-exposed, emissions-intensive industries, such as pulp & paper differs with New Zealand’s system of phasing out protection for energy intensive industries over time, regardless of what their overseas competitors are doing.
Rhodes says, “Our timber and pulp and paper mills are already extremely energy efficient and were early adopters of co-generation. Imposing a sinking lid on their emissions in effect penalises them for having been environmentally responsible.”
He says widespread agreement exists in the industry. He believes that, at a political level, there should be close alignment between the New Zealand emission trading scheme and its Australian counterpart. He says, “With the release of the Australian Green Report, the New Zealand government now has the chance to fine-tune its emission trading scheme so this alignment is maximised. Changes to rules relating to the treatment of Kyoto forests and the phase-out of the protection for trade-exposed industries should not be major hurdles in the context of the emissions trading scheme as a whole. But they will make a huge difference to the competitiveness of the industries involved.”
