Primary industries
If you're a farmer or agricultural processor you may have obligations to report your emissions, and foresters may be entitled to earn units.
If you're a farmer or agricultural processor you may have obligations to report your emissions, and foresters may be entitled to earn units.
Since 2011, companies carrying out certain agricultural activities have had an obligation to report their emissions to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Emissions in this sector are methane and nitrous oxide. Methane emissions are produced by ruminant animals and animal waste, while nitrous oxide emissions comes from urine, dung and nitrogen fertiliser.
Affected activities are:
Animal Products Act 1999 - New Zealand Legislation website
Participants in the agricultural sector are not currently required to surrender New Zealand Units (NZUs) to account for their emissions. Participants in the agricultural sector are required to record information about the extent of their relevant activities and submit this as part of their annual emissions return. This figure is then multiplied by an emissions factor that estimates the emissions per tonne of waste to give a total emissions figure.
Even though the agricultural sector does not currently have a surrender requirement associated with their emissions, it is important that emissions data is accurately reported as the government uses this when making an annual assessment of New Zealand's total emissions. Please see the main Emissions Reporting page for more information about how to complete an emissions return.
Some activities in the agricultural sector have been identified as eligible to receive an allocation as they are considered to be "Emissions Intensive and Trade Exposed". These are:
See the main Industrial Allocations page for more information about allocations and details on how to apply.
If you own or have rights to forest land, you may be able to earn units through the ETS. You must also meet specific obligations.
Forestry matters in the ETS are managed by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). If you'd like more information you can visit their website or contact MPI. Information about pre-1990 forestry determination decisions may be viewed on the Ministry for the Environment's website.
Contact the Ministry for Primary Industries website
Pre-1990 forestry determination decisions - Ministry for the Environment website
People in the fishing industry do not have to track or pay for their emissions, and are not required to be participants in the ETS.
However, when the ETS was initially set up, some eligible fishing quota owners were able to apply for a once-off allocation of emission units. These could be sold or traded to compensate for any increased costs they would face after the introduction of the scheme which may have affected the value of their quota. This part of the scheme has now concluded.