What does the NZ ETS mean for me?

Most businesses and individuals will not be directly involved in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).

Only some businesses will have an obligation to surrender New Zealand Units (NZUs) to match their emissions. Likewise only some businesses will receive an allocation of NZUs to assist in the transition to paying a price for their carbon emissions.

To find out more, see About the NZ ETS.

What can I do?

Find out how the NZ ETS works and what you can do to reduce costs and emissions.

Reducing the cost

Others not directly involved will feel some of the effects of the scheme as the sectors that are involved pass their costs on to their customers. For example the price of electricity and fuel is likely to increase as the cost of carbon is passed through to customers. There will also be a range of secondary effects, such as increases in the price of some goods as a result of increased production costs or increased freight charges.

To reduce the effect of the NZ ETS on the economy, the Government has introduced an indefinite transitional phase. During the transitional phase, the emissions obligation placed on businesses in the liquid fossil fuels, stationary energy, industrial processes, waste and synthetic greenhouse gases sectors is halved (ie, they will only be required to surrender one emission unit for every two tonnes of emissions), and there will be a $25 fixed-price option for emission units.

Last updated: 19 April 2013