Farm Forestry New ZealandTrees for Carbon
Tree Grower articles
- The Permanent Forest Sink Initiative nine years on - What is the PFSI and what has it achieved?
Stuart Orme, November 2015
The Permanent Forest Sink Initiative or PFSI forms part of New Zealand’s climate change response which was established in 2006. It allowed land owners to make a commitment to establishing… - Deadlines for the Emissions Trading Scheme and safe carbon
Stuart Orme, May 2015
Growers with forests still in the ETS need to be aware of a couple of deadlines coming up. One is the voluntary emissions returns for 2014 and the other is… - Emissions Trading Scheme alive and kicking weakly
Stuart Orme, February 2015
The ETS is alive and kicking, sort of. The latest advice from the government is that the ETS is here to stay. The guide price suggested for New Zealand Units… - Retrospective law affecting the ETS Bad government?
Stuart Orme, August 2014
In a move widely deemed as unfair and without precedent, in the May 2014 budget the government introduced a retrospective law, the Climate Change Response (Unit Restriction) Amendment Act 2014.… - Storm damage and obligations under the Emissions Trading Scheme
Ollie Belton, August 2014
The last twelve months has seen a series of major storms across New Zealand, and if climate science predictions prove correct we are likely to see increases in storm intensity… - Leaving the ETS - Potential problems for owners of post-1989 forests
Ollie Belton, May 2014
International units have ruined the New Zealand carbon market. Ironically these same cheap units have also allowed many forest owners to wipe their carbon debt for as little as 25… - Is your forest ETS compliant?
Ollie Belton, February 2014
With the crash of the New Zealand carbon market over the past two years, coupled with resurgent log prices, the Emissions Trading Scheme has faded into the background for most… - The ETS here and overseas
Stuart Orme, August 2013
Forget fairness, logic and justice. The ETS is all about managing risk and seizing opportunity. As I write this article I am just back from my third trip to China… - Remove your ETS obligation for very little cost
Stuart Orme, May 2013
It has been suggested that the ETS has passed its sell-by date and there is little more to say. I would suggest that this could be yet another view versus… - Forget offsetting - You can now deforest for less than $300 a hectare
Stuart Orme, February 2013
Under the ETS, owners of pre-1990 forest land become emitters and are required to surrender units if they deforest. This applies if you clear trees from more than two hectares… - Is the Doha result a disaster for New Zealand forestry?
Geoff Thompson, February 2013
New Zealand has miscued its international climate change response and the forest industry will suffer. The withdrawal of New Zealand from a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol has… - Select Committee fails to fix ETS Amendment Bill
Stuart Orme, November 2012
The Finance and Expenditure Select Committee released its report on the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill in mid-October. Disappointingly, it remained mainly unchanged from its first reading. The comments of… - A message about the ETS - Get informed, get involved or get hamstrung
Stuart Orme, August 2012
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has recently been highlighted in the media as the government announced a number of changes to be implemented in legislation to be passed later this… - Is your forest sunk by carbon?
Matt Hanna, August 2012
Valuing a forest for sale before the ETS was introduced was a two-part story of land and trees. Now post-1990 forest owners have to consider what value carbon in their… - Permanent Forest Sink Initiative and trees for protection and profit
Mark Belton, August 2012
Forestry is often seen as a threat to farming communities, especially where entire hill country farms are sold up and planted wall-to-wall with radiata pine. However, there are many roles… - Carbon credits - Is New Zealand in surplus or deficit?
Stuart Orme, May 2012
I understand that the government believes the country is in surplus for carbon credits and will meet its Kyoto obligations. This is calculated by the amount of carbon in the… - Opportunities for carbon forestry
Stuart Orme, February 2012
‘Come to Africa,’ my daughter chirped over skype three months ago ‘it will be cool’. In fact on the top of Mt Kilimanjaro at 5,895 metres above sea level just… - Carbon insurance liability
Geoff Manks, February 2012
You may be a forester growing trees for the purpose of trading your carbon credits, or you may provide professional advice to those involved in carbon forestry, or carry out… - Emissions Trading Scheme facing significant challenges
Geoff Thompson, February 2012
The Cabinet is expected to make decisions very soon about the recommendations of the ETS Review panel’s report. It will be dealing with them in the context of the latest… - ETS almost four years old
Stuart Orme, November 2011
Within two months of you receiving this issue of Tree Grower the ETS in New Zealand as we know it will be four years old – effectively born on the… - The cost of doing nothing - ETS dates loom for small forest owners
Stuart Orme, August 2011
At the risk of sounding repetitive, owners of pre-1990 forestry land are captured by the legislation whether they look for compensatory credits or not. This extends over pines, willows, poplars,… - Carbon measurements that forest owners will have to make
Hamish Levack, May 2011
Last year MAF proposed a field measurement approach to determine carbon stocks in post-1989 forest land. As one of the interested stakeholders, the NZFFA has considered the proposal and suggested… - To sell or not to sell?
Stuart Orme, May 2011
We would like to think that members of the NZFFA must be some of the better informed forest owners in New Zealand. Undoubtable the allocation of credits for owners of… - Making cents for Northland farms with the ETS
John-Paul Praat and Bob Thomson, May 2011
The ETS imposes increased costs on everyone and of course no one thinks that is fair, farmers included. However, the ETS presents some farmers with opportunities to make money. The… - Carbon measurements that forest owners will have to make
Hamish Levack, May 2011
Last year MAF proposed a field measurement approach to determine carbon stocks in post-1989 forest land. As one of the interested stakeholders, the NZFFA has considered the proposal and suggested… - Will it be possible to get registered in time?
Stuart Orme, February 2011
Emission returns Emission returns are currently being received up to 31 March 2011 for credits sequestered for 2008 to 2010. Remember that when doing the return the legislation requires that… - Insuring carbon in your trees
Geoff Manks, November 2010
It is reasonable to ask how you can insure something which without help, you cannot see, hear or feel. Following the introduction of the ETS, forest owners who trade their… - Forestry rights and the ETS
Stuart Orme, November 2010
The advent of the ‘forestry right’ some three decades ago has allowed land owners, along with someone without an interest in the land, to invest and own forests together in… - Forestry and wood and the ETS
Wink Sutton, August 2010
If we want to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide why have we limited the forestry contribution to carbon sequestration? Since we cannot go on increasing new planting for ever, the carbon… - Pre 1990 forest land allocation plan and new indigenous look-up tables
Stuart Orme, August 2010
This is the third in a series of articles relating to the ETS as it affects land owners and forest growers. Pre 1990 forest land allocation plan MAF expects that… - Allocation or exemption opportunity
Stuart Orme, May 2010
You have twelve months from the 1 July this year to apply for your pre 1990 forest allocation of compensation credits, or to apply for a future deforestation exemption. With… - Turning MAF policy into profit
Stuart Orme, February 2010
This is the first in a series of articles about forests and carbon. Future articles will look at compensatory payments of credits to pre-1990 forest owners, tax implications and how… - Managing carbon trading risk using redwood
Paul Silcock, November 2009
Plantation grown coast redwood is a species eminently suitable for long term carbon sequestration. Other articles in this issue of Tree Grower describe the attributes that make this tree a… - Letter to the editor - Afforestation Grant Scheme
John Simmons, August 2009
Dear Sir, Afforestation Grant Scheme I would like to express my views as an Association member and frustration as an applicant on behalf of the Waikato Branch acting for a… - The rules applying to deforestation exemptions
Allan Laurie, August 2009
I have received a number of calls from clients, particularly those owning land that contains trees planted pre-1990, anticipating or perhaps considering applying for a deforestation exemption. Below is a… - Indigenous forestry options for trading in carbon credits
Warwick Silvester, February 2009
The Kyoto protocol requires us to control or mitigate our carbon emissions. Trees as major carbon sinks are seen as one of the best ways to implement this. Four schemes… - Carbon update
Piers MacLaren, November 2008
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is now law. The rules regarding forestry may bring great riches to some, great pain to others, and a shrug of the shoulders to everyone… - Carbon gains, losses and risks
Piers Maclaren, February 2008
You own a forest. You have heard about the government’s new Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but it seems very complicated. There is a huge amount to read and absorb. Do…
Articles and Reports
- Video guidance
Ministry for Primary Industries, June 2018 (Access: unrestricted)
MPI has created a series of short videos (5 minutes each) to help participants with MER calculations. The 11 video series covers all aspects of emissions returns, from the basics… - Climate change and agriculture: Understanding the biological greenhouse gases
the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, October 2016 (Access: unrestricted)
In this report the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment examines the issue of agricultural greenhouse gases – methane and nitrous oxide – which together form about half of New Zealand’s… - New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme review 2015/16 Consultation
NZFFA, February 2016 (Access: unrestricted)
Submission by NZ Farm Forestry Association (pdf) » - Do Carbon offsets work? The role of forest management in greenhouse gas mitigation
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, August 2013 (Access: unrestricted)
Report from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service on the role of forest carbon in combatting climate change. Some excerpts: Ultimately carbon trades allow businesses to continue to… - Food, Fuel and Famine
Mike Malloy, July 2011 (Access: unrestricted)
For thousands of years, humans have dreamed of finding a way to escape the Rule of Famine. In the second half of the 20th century, they thought that they had… - Environmental Impacts of Multi-Storey Buildings using Different Construction Materials
BRANZ, July 2009 (Access: unrestricted)
Using a real six-story concrete building being erected at the University of Canterbury as the template, researchers "built" another three virtual buildings with the same characteristics as the template. One… - Comment on forestry and climate change
E. G. Mason and David Evison, July 2009 (Access: unrestricted)
The forestry sector makes large direct and indirect contributions to the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from New Zealand, and its contribution could be even larger if we set…
Blogs
- Fruit Hanging at Close to Ground Level: Denis Hocking's blog, December 21, 2014
On his return from the Climate Change Conference in Lima, earlier this month, Climate Change Minister, Hon. Tim Groser claimed that New Zealand was in a difficult position because it… - Gobal emissions and biofuels: Dean Satchell's blog, October 09, 2014
Global emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and cement production grew 2.3 percent to a record high of 36 billion tonnes CO2 in 2013. CSIRO's Dr Pep Canadell,…
Headlines
- Productivity Commission Report heralds massive land conversion to forestry September 2018
Forest owners say the Productivity Commission’s call for up to 2.8 million hectares of land to be turned into forests as a carbon sink would require implementing the most ambitious… - Emissions Trading Scheme revisions timely and necessary for climate change goals August 2018
Forest owners are calling the proposed revisions to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) both timely and necessary if New Zealand is to hope to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.… - Zero Carbon Act solution in planting more trees March 2018
The Forest Owners Association says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, should be listened to when he says "Words need to be turned into deeds to achieve New… - Including Forestry in an Emissions Trading Scheme: Lessons from New Zealand August 2017
New Zealand is the first, and still the only, country to include forest landowners as full and, in some cases, mandatory participants in a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading scheme… - Emission Trading Scheme Imbalance Will Cost New Zealanders. August 2017
Recent updates to the Government’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) are a mixed bag according to sources in the New Zealand Forestry industry. Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett announced a raft… - ETS review may reduce forest planting while foresters wait for certainty July 2017
Forest owners and wood processors say they appreciate the government needs to fine tune the Emissions Trading Scheme, but they believe present uncertainty in the ETS might lead to a… - No need for delay in forest planting May 2017
Forest owners are saying the government needs to get extra forest planting under way and not wait until next year for a report to be presented on climate change. The… - Forest Owners want Vivid Economics Report implemented March 2017
The Forest Owners Association says policy makers must decide soon on which option to adopt from the just released Vivid report recommending various scenarios for making New Zealand carbon neutral.… - New Zealand forest industry important nationally, regionally and environmentally – NZIER Report March 2017
A report on the plantation forest industry has highlighted its value to national and regional economies, as well as forestry's beneficial effect on New Zealand's ecology. The NZIER Report was… - Forest Owners urge farmers to plant more trees February 2017
Forest Owners say the new Federated Farmers' policy on climate change is a major step to help farmers understand trees are not an alternative to farming, but rather trees are… - More trees part of the answer to agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions October 2016
The Forest Owners Association is backing the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s call for more plantation forests to be planted in New Zealand to offset greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.… - ETS subsidy removal could deliver efficiency June 2016
The New Zealand Wood Council says the government decision to phase out a polluters’ subsidy in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a step in the right direction, but much… - Pure Advantage calls for 1.3 million hectares of new forest in New Zealand April 2016
As set forth in the Pure Advantage discussion paper, Our Forest Future, this goal is defined as ambitious but realistic. Our Forest Future "Our future forests will add national value… - Bennett supported by forest owners at New York signing April 2016
Forest owners say the formal adoption of the Paris climate change agreement in New York on Friday [22 April] will potentially have great benefits for both plantation and natural forests… - Meaningful carbon price is vital to future of forestry February 2016
New Zealand’s third largest export industry, forestry, is steadily shrinking. Ministry for Primary Industries figures reveal that only 3000 hectares of new forest were planted in 2015 and that the… - Government agricultural emissions pledge December 2015
The New Zealand Institute of Forestry suggests there is cost-effective technologies Agriculture can do about their emissions. The New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) strongly disagree with the Prime Minister… - The NZ Farm Forestry Association Welcomes the Green Party’s Climate Plan September 2015
The Green Party launched their climate plan yesterday, and the NZ Farm Forestry Association is pleased to note that the forestry industry forms one of the major planks of this… - Wood Council: Emission targets should be fair and include agriculture June 2015
The forest and wood processing industries have urged the government to set a credible emissions target and to implement it fairly. Emission targets need to be fair and credible. “The… - Bold Climate Change Target Achievable June 2015
New Zealand officials can confidently table a bold ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contribution’ to a global climate change target, argues the NZ Farm Forestry Association. The next United Nations Climate Change… - Global call finds NZ forest policies wanting March 2015
Forest owners and wood processors world-wide are calling for governments to recognise the role of forests and wood products in combating climate change. Forests and climate change is the theme… - ETS Crisis Meeting called for February 2015
Forest owners are asking the government to call an urgent meeting of primary sector leaders and iwi to deal with the country’s greenhouse gas emissions blow-out. They say a lack… - Forest owners welcome Labour's climate initiatives August 2014
Labour’s proposal to set up an independent Climate Commission to advise the government on how to meet its emissions targets has been welcomed by the Forest Owners Association. “It will… - Forest owners given another ETS whack May 2014
A measure hidden in the fine print of the Budget has forest owners wondering why they are again being unfairly singled out. In a Bill that is expected to become… - The Cost of doing Nothing! September 2011
ETS dates loom for Deforested Land and small forest owners – Don’t get caught in jail! At the risk of sounding repetitive ‘Pre-1990 forestry land’ owners are captured by the legislation… - Government rob small forest growers of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of carbon from their trees March 2011
Small forest growers are outraged with the contempt shown by Government towards them in its recently announced decision on the Field Measurement Approach (FMA) in estimating carbon sequestration in their… - Claim your credits February 2011
Are farmers with pre-1990 forests so well off they don't need to claim their credits? The Government has all this money to give away to owners of pre 1990 forests… - Consultation on a Field Measurement Approach for post-1989 forests October 2010
Excerpt from Sustainable Forestry Bulletin Issue 20 - 15 October 2010: MAF has issued a consultation document with proposals for a Field Measurement Approach (FMA) to determining carbon stocks in post-1989… - Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) update - Forestry July 2009
from Sustainable Forestry Bulletin - July 2009 Forestry remains actively in the ETS. The obligation to surrender emissions units to meet deforestation liabilities from 1 January 2008 remains unchanged. However,… - Tackling Agriculture's Carbon Footprint July 2009
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's recently released study on the likely impact of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) on agriculture has, understandably, created considerable alarm in farming circles. Under… - Mixed Score-Card for Govt July 2009
The NZ Farm Forestry Association, (FFA), has reacted favourably to much of the Government's new climate change and emissions trading proposals says President, Patrick Milne. The Government finally seems to… - Green groups and foresters join forces on climate change September 2007
Major environmental and forest industry groups are calling for the government to adopt climate change policies that are fair, efficient and apply to all industries. This follows a decision to…
Other Sources of Information
- A Guide to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
Produced by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. This guide explains how the NZ ETS is designed and operates (a snapshot as at August 2018). - New study confirms that switching to wood construction from concrete or steel reduces CO2 emissions
(2014) - Emissions trading scheme
Ministry for Primary Industries - Forestry in the Emissions trading scheme
Ministry for Primary Industries - An overview of Forestry in the ETS
Ministry for Primary Industries (2015) - Cost benefit analysis of wilding conifer management in New Zealand - Part 1: Impacts under current management
Velarde, S., T. Paul, J. Monge and R. Yao (2015). - Getting started in farm forestry
Ministry for Primary Industries - Carbon forestry: the opportunity
Scion information sheet (2012)
Introductory information sheet for planters considering including carbon sequestration as one potential benefit from their trees. - Trees in the greenhouse: The role of forestry in mitigating the enhanced greenhouse effect
FRI Bulletin No. 219, Maclaren, J. P. (2000) - Forestry and forest products as a carbon sink in New Zealand
FRI Bulletin No. 162, Maclaren, P. and S. J. Wakelin (1991). - The carbon forest, a New Zealand guide to forest carbon sinks for investors, farmers, foresters and conservationists
Paul Kennett, Johnathan Kennet, Simon Johnson and Tom Bennion (2010)
NZFFA on facebook