Transport Fuels Technical Advisory Group (TF TAG)
Notes of 4th meeting held on 10 June 2.30pm – 4pm at the Ministry of Transport
Present:
Kirstine Hulse, David Jacobsen, Geoff Davis, Barry Blackett, Roger Fairclough (official, chair), Jörn Scherzer (official), Leah Murphy (official), Ian Twomey (expert adviser), Frank Wong,
via Auckland video link: Paul Kelway, Nicole Williamson (Qantas, joined meeting at 2.50pm), Cecilia Howe (Qantas, joined meeting at 2.50pm)
via phone link: David White
Apologies:
Ian McDonald, Dave Bodger, Andrew Campbell, Greg Visser
- Meeting commenced with a welcome from the Chair.
- Previous minutes
- The minutes were approved.
- It was agreed that the minutes could be publicly released.
- Actions as stated in the previous minutes were discussed under items 6 and 7 of the agenda
- Update on progress of Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill and Regulation process
Leah Murphy explained the current status of the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill (‘the Bill’). She noted the following points:- Select Committee report back has been delayed by a week due to the extensive work programme; the report is now expected to be tabled on Monday 16 June.
- Two major changes to the Bill have been publicised so far: (1) the start of the phase-out of free units is delayed until 2018, with the phase-out to be completed by 2030, and (2) a delayed entry of the transport sector into the ETS, now in 2011.
- Voluntary reporting in 2009 for transport emissions is a possibility, with mandatory reporting from 2010
- Update from The Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes (‘SEIP’) TAG
Roger Fairclough noted that a meeting was held on 3 June with a lot of work focusing on data and access to data from Statistics NZ. This data is analysed regarding fuel use to determine an emissions factor for electricity; this in turn is intended to inform the discussion regarding free allocation of units.
Companies above the threshold will be entitled to free units, at present the threshold is at 50,000 tCO2e, however this is under deliberation: > 50,000t about 20 companies would gain access to free credits, >20,000t another 20 companies would be eligible to receive free credits, >0t about 3000 to 4000 companies would be eligible to receive free credits.
As noted in the previous notes, most activities are undertaken in sub-groups. A new subgroup focused on electricity emissions and the corresponding emissions factor has been established (see above discussion regarding electricity). - Point of data collection
Fuel suppliers have met, with Ian Twomey as the facilitator. Ian Twomey presented a brief summary of the outcomes and noted that oil companies have different views about where the point of data collection should be, with 2 companies supporting the point of sale, and 3 companies supporting the point of excise. Preferences appear to be linked to (1) the respective companies’ internal systems, and (2) philosophical differences, i.e. whether the ETS was regarded as a tax or as a cost associated with each sale.
Overall, the outcome was inconclusive; there is no intention for a follow up meeting. It was noted however that voluntary reporting could be an opportunity to gain experience about which point of data collection may be more appropriate, and this could be the basis for reviewing the regulations before mandatory reporting and participation in the ETS would begin.
It was noted that officials would consider the feedback from the fuel suppliers meeting and after discussion decide the outcome. A point was raised at the TAG meeting for officials to consider including two points of data collection (current excise and also Point of Sales) in the regulations.
Officials will include this factor in their considerations. - Updated Climate Change (Liquid Fossil Fuel) Regulations 2008 as at 29 April 2008
Officials and TAG members discussed the changes to the regulations and identified that some changes requested in the previous meeting had not been made. It was agreed that officials would follow up with the drafters to make sure the requested changes are reflected in the regulations. No additional amendments were requested. Officials noted that the changes requested in the previous meeting for item 3(1) in the regulations were not needed because they were either covered in the Bill or not necessary.
Officials clarified the process from here. Officials would coordinate with the drafters to ensure the requested changes are made. A draft would then be circulated to members of the group within the next week (likely 16 June), members would then have one week to comment on the draft. It was agreed that if all members endorsed of the draft, the draft would become final and no further meeting would be necessary.
- Timetable for finalisation of regulations
Officials briefly outlined the process from here. If the regulations were endorsed by the TAG members, they could be presented to Cabinet. Provisional to agreement by Cabinet and the signature of the Governor-General, the regulations could be enacted 28 days after being gazetted. Officials noted further that the timetable would depend on the Bill. Provided the regulations are finalised by the end of June, they could be enacted as soon as the Bill is enacted. - Future of TF TAG
It was agreed that the group should not be disbanded as issues may arise in the future and there is still a question over how unique emission factors would be added. However, no formal meeting would be scheduled at this stage. - Observer Status – move for Nicole Williamson from Qantas to join as member
Members endorsed Qantas as a participant in the group. - Unique emission factor – initial thoughts on process
Officials noted that one of the SEIP subgroups looks at methodologies for unique emission factors, and that there was potential for a meeting between that group and interested members of the TF-TAG.
No further business items were identified. No formal meeting is scheduled at this stage. The chair closed the meeting at 3.55pm.
Last updated: 15 September 2008
