Climate Change Leadership Forum report number: 4
Report on the Technical Advisory Group for the Agriculture Component of the NZETS
Briefing for the Climate Change Leadership Forum
Prepared by Andrew Hume
Date: 18 June 2008
Summary:
Point of obligation
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) worked to clarify what different points of obligation imply for processors and farmers before and during the 2013 year when agriculture is due to enter the ETS. Issues discussed included:
- the methodology to use to forecast emission factors and how more complex methodologies could be used if they were cost effective
- how national animal identification and tracing (NAIT) could be used to support a farm level point of obligation
- whether different tiers of compliance could use the same emissions calculator with different levels of farm specific information
- the extent to which data reported to IRD could be used either for a simple emissions return or for verification
- whether a web based system would be significantly less expensive for farmers to use
- what information do processors hold that could be used to calculate emissions
The TAG agreed to set up a sub-group to consider the question of whether the landowner or the stockowner should be the point of obligation at farm level. The TAG agreed that the point of obligation work should be written up into a draft paper to consider at the next meeting.
The science of emissions from fertiliser from horticulture (arable and tree crops) was discussed and it was agreed that more work was required.
Allocation of free units
The TAG considered the various objectives that providing free units was aimed at achieving. These are:
- leakage
- transition
- equity
The TAG discussed these at length. In particular the issue of leakage was discussed and what this meant for New Zealand in the long term.
Further work
The issues that require further work are:
- land or stock owner as the farm level point of obligation
- the costs of the different points of obligation and how these change with varying complexity
- allocation objectives and how these could be reflected in allocation methodology
- how NAIT could be used for farm level point of obligation
- emission factor forecasting methodologies
- the science of horticulture emissions
Next meeting
The TAG agreed to meet in late July.
