ETS snubs on-farm carbon capture

• Published date: 12 October 2022
• Publication title: Stratford Press

They believe the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) pricing system rather than the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the right approach

The HWEN proposal is being considered by Minister for Climate Change James Shaw.

According to his office, “the proposal from the He Waka Eke Noa partnership, alongside advice from the Climate Change Commission and officials, is being analysed and evaluated. That analysis will form the basis of Cabinet decisions on final options, due later this year, which will be subject to public consultation”.

The Kaeo couple, 2020 Regional Supreme Winners in the Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards, believe it is critical that when farmers start to face a price on their emissions from 2025, they get proper recognition for their sequestration - the carbon captured and stored in the stems, branches, roots and foliage of trees.

That is the approach proposed by HWEN, the 13-member climate action partnership including 10 primary sector organisations, Māori, the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ministry for the Environment.

Forests planted before 1990 are not eligible to earn units in the NZ ETS. However, the proposal from the He Waka Eke Noa partnership is for pre-1990 indigenous vegetation to be recognised as long as specific management activities, such as permanently eliminating browsing pests and predators, lead to additional sequestration...