NZ Carbon Forestry: destination unknown

Carbon Match in their weekly newsletter said they were concerned that many NZ foresters simply didn’t realise how grim the future of carbon forestry appears to be, given current settings. Until NZUs start to trade at least at par with international units, the only real source of demand for NZUs will be from emitters with an NZU-Only policy, from landowners looking to extinguish deforestation liabilities yet to crystallise, or from those who simply want to repay NZUs and withdraw from the ETS.

With respect to the latter, recent announcements may well drive withdrawal from the scheme. Some forest owners report that they are struggling to cope with the uncertainty over the fast forest fix, low prices and the not insignificant costs associated with field measurement requirements. As one recently said, "the ETS is like a savings bank that charges its customers for making deposits."

Source: Carbon Match Weekly, www.carbonmatch.co.nz

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