| New Zealand Passes Carbon Trading Bill | | Print | |
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New Zealand on Wednesday passed a climate change bill that will set up the country's first emissions trading scheme and help it meet obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the government said. Trading of carbon credits begins in 2009 and Wednesday's parliamentary approval means the system is the first national cap-and-trade scheme outside of Europe. Neighbouring Australia has set a 2010 deadline for its scheme to begin operation. The bill faced a rocky path to approval by lawmakers, with the minority-led government forced into months of negotiation with the Greens and New Zealand First parties to win majority support. The bill was passed into law on a 63-57 vote in parliament. The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill will eventually bring all sectors of the economy under a regime that sets limits on the amount of greenhouse gas they can emit. Those that breach their limit will have to buy credits from users that produced emissions below their ceiling. The New Zealand trading scheme will phase in sectors across the economy and includes all emissions from forestry from 2008, transport by 2009, stationary energy such as coal-fired power stations by 2010 and agricultural waste by 2013. About 60 percent of New Zealand's power comes from hydro-electricity, while agricultural emissions, such as methane from livestock, comprise about half the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would act as a catalyst to bring forward clean technology and would create incentives for climate-friendly behaviour and investments, according to David Parker, minister for climate change. "For the first time we will start factoring in the true cost of greenhouse gas emissions into our economy," Parker said in a statement. New Zealand was joining 27 others nations that had adopted emissions trading schemes, and many others that were developing them, Parker said. Provisions in the bill meant New Zealand could meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol while helping the country reduce emissions at the lowest possible cost, Parker said. "It does so in a fair and effective way by charging the polluter for increases in emissions and rewarding decreases," Parker said. New Zealand aims to be "carbon neutral" in the total energy sector by 2040. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by David Fogarty) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE |