New Zealand's private sector will not plant more trees under
planned changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a
forestry group says.
The Government plans to set an emissions target for 2020
early next month so that Trade Minister Tim Groser can take
the figure to negotiations at a United Nations climate change
meeting in Germany on August 10.
Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said at the weekend that
while decisions were yet to be made, targets of a 40 percent
reduction on 1990 emissions -- the figure international
scientists say is necessary to keep global warming to around
2degC -- would have too great an economic impact, which he
estimated would cost $15 billion a year by 2015.
Kyoto Forestry Association (KFA) spokesman Roger Dickie said
Dr Smith was "incorrect if he thinks the Government's plans
to water down the ETS are going to encourage new planting".
Plans to delay the entry of polluting sectors into the ETS
and to exclude agriculture meant the forestry sector would
have no one to sell carbon credits to domestically.
"So, the domestic price for carbon will remain low, which
will not encourage investors to plant new trees." The
Government was also expected to cap the carbon price which
would prevent the international trading of New Zealand
credits, Mr Dickie said.
"No private sector investor will risk their capital to plant
new forests under these circumstances." The KFA represents
more than 30,000 New Zealanders and forestry companies.
Academics said New Zealanders would need to plant new
forests, boost the use of existing forests and increase the
use of wood in construction to cut the nation's greenhouse
gas emissions.
"In order to avoid a serious problem in our future national
greenhouse gas accounts, we need to increase the rate of new
planting right now," said two specialists at Canterbury
University's forestry school, Associate Professor Euan Mason
and senior lecturer David Evison.
Ministry of Economic Development figures released last week
showed the nation's total greenhouse gas -- primarily
carbondioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- jumped nearly 24
percent between 1990 and 2008.
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