Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced that the government had started consultation on a 50 percent reduction to the annual charge for forest owners participating in the Forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Registry.
“Following an independent review released last week, we propose lowering the per-hectare annual charge to $14.90. This is a 50 per cent reduction from Labour’s excessive charge announced just before the election of $30.25 per hectare per year,” said McClay.
“It’s now clear that the previous Labour government made several decisions that drove up the cost of this Registry, and they expected the forestry sector to pay for their mistakes. Cabinet has agreed that the sector should not bear the brunt of Labour’s previous decisions.”
Over the last 10 months, the Ministry for Primary Industries has worked to find efficiencies and reduce costs. They have also focused on improving service delivery to ensure the Registry meets the expectations of forestry users. As a result, the annual charge has been reduced significantly.
“Last week, we announced the formation of a Forestry Sector Reference Group to improve outcomes for the ETS Registry further and find greater cost savings over the next year. This is an opportunity for the forestry sector and government to partner to drive better outcomes for forestry.”
The new annual charge will begin in the 2024/25 financial year and will remain in place until a full review is conducted after the current emissions reporting period.
“This proposal is part of the Government’s promise to rebuild confidence in the forestry sector and support its role in achieving New Zealand’s exporting and emissions targets.”
Consultation on the new annual charge started on the 23rd of October, 2024 and ran for three weeks. It covered the reduced annual charge and adjustments to the Climate Change (Forestry) Regulations 2022 for participants using the field measurement approach during the 2023–25 period.
Following consultation, the Cabinet will move quickly to finalise the regulations, giving participants clarity and certainty on charges.
More news here
