WELLINGTON — The New Zealand government said on Tuesday it would more than halve the number of units it makes available to offset carbon emissions between 2025 to 2029, as part of a plan to restore confidence in the emissions trading scheme market.
Auctions for New Zealand units, which represent one metric tonne of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of any other greenhouse gas, have consistently failed over the past year due to oversupply leading to a loss of confidence in the system.
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said in a statement that the government had decided to reduce the number of units available between 2025 and 2029, from 45 million to 21 million.
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“There is an oversupply of units held by participants which has contributed to a depreciated price of carbon. This has led, in part, to the failure of recent auctions to clear, and poses a risk to achieving our climate targets and emissions budgets,” he added.
This limit is for units provided by the government for industrial allocation and purchase at auction but does not limit the volume of units that are issued to those removing greenhouse gases from the environment such as forest owners.
The government said it would retain the current auction floor price, the cost containment reserve price, and current reserve volumes of New Zealand units.
“These settings are doing their job and should be left alone,” Watts said.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Stephen Coates)
