New Zealand Celsias

Chances are if you’re a Celsias member, you already know about the governments Emission’s Trading Scheme (ETS). But unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ll know that since its introduction, confusion surrounding the scheme has continued to surface. And with utilities, industrials and the transport sector set to partake in the ETS trading market in less than two weeks, questions are set to rise further.

In an effort to curb confusion and inform New Zealanders on how the ETS works, Climate Change Minister Nick Smith has announced a series of public meetings across the country, as well as brochures to be distributed to households, businesses and farmers, informing New Zealanders.

Smith says an important component of this educational push is to inform the public on the opportunities presented by the ETS – instead of focusing on associated costs.

 “… I would like New Zealanders to understand the opportunities from new energy technologies, from planting trees and from insulating their homes.

“The purpose of the ETS is not to increase costs but help drive the change that our country needs to make to curb the growth in our emissions and to adapt to a carbon-constrained world,” says Smith.

“I am already encouraged by the change in behaviour that is happening due to the ETS. The bulk of new electricity generation in the last 10 years has been from coal, gas and diesel. However, since the passing of the ETS into law, more than 80% of new consents lodged have been for renewable generation in hydro, wind, geothermal and marine.

The ETS was introduced as part of the Kyoto Protocol in which New Zealand agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2012 or pay for any excess.

Since its introduction, the scheme has faced much criticism, most recently from the Federated Farmers group who say the national animal population will need to expand by 4.7 million lambs and 88,000 cows to offset the costs imposed by the ETS in its first year.

In May, power companies Mercury and Contact announced prices will rise 3.3 percent and 3.2 percent respectively due to estimated costs of the ETS.

The meetings are a chance for you to put your questions directly to the Climate Change Minister himself, and you can find a list with meeting locations below.

More information on the ETS is available online by clicking here.

For other ETS related stories on Celsias, see:

Cool reaction to ETS-related power hike

Rural lobby black about ETS sheep costs

Questions over carbon market supply

Cool reaction to ETS-related power hike

Image: Flickr - db*Photography

Upcoming meetings