WWF-New Zealand media release – for immediate release

WWF ‘dismayed’ over ETS inaction

Following concern raised by the forestry industry over the lack of restriction on importing cheap carbon credits into New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme, WWF today expressed dismay over the Government’s inaction.

Restricting the import of cheap carbon credits, in order to ensure a more robust and effective carbon price in New Zealand, is one of the proposals put on the table in last year’s ETS review.

The low carbon price is proving a significant disincentive to the tree planting the ETS was intended to stimulate. However, ignoring calls from the New Zealand forest industry, the government has not taken action and is instead putting forward amendments to further weaken an already ineffective scheme.

Peter Hardstaff, Climate Change Programme Manager at WWF-New Zealand said:

“Right from the outset, encouraging tree planting was more or less the only useful contribution the ETS could make because it would do little or nothing to drive down emissions from polluters in New Zealand. Yet with such a low international carbon price even the tree planting is unlikely to happen.

“Restricting the import of cheap credits is a modest and sensible step to bolster the carbon price in New Zealand and stimulate tree planting. Yet even this has been rejected by the government, which is instead proposing to further weaken the scheme. There are already enough loopholes in the ETS to drive a truck through.

“We are dismayed at the government’s short-sighted approach and call on Climate Change Minister Tim Groser to ditch proposals to further weaken the ETS and to take action to restrict the import of cheap carbon credits.”

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