NZ ETS Unit Settings and Annual Regulatory Updates 2024

Closed 14 Jun 2024

Opened 15 May 2024

Contact

etsconsultation@mfe.govt.nz

Results updated 6 Sep 2024

From 15 May to 14 June 2024, the Government consulted on proposals to update New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) unit settings for the period 2025 to 2029. This included two webinars held on 28 and 29 May 2023. 

Thank you to all who made a submission. 

Read the summary of submissions [PDF, 184 KB]

Decisions on Unit Settings 

Decisions on unit settings for 2025 – 2029 have been made.

See Annual updates to emission unit limits and price control settings [Ministry for the Environment]

Decisions on Technical Updates 

Decisions on technical updates to NZ ETS regulations for 2025 have been made.  

The majority of technical updates proposed in the consultation document have been agreed to by the Government, with general support from submitters. 

One significant change to note is the deferral of three of the updates to the Climate Change (Unique Emissions Factors) Regulations 2009 that relate to the waste sector. These changes will come into effect on 01 January 2026. This will provide landfill operators, in particular local councils, time to prepare for  the corrections to the regulations.

Overview

Consultation was sought on the Government’s annual review of auction settings and other regulations for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).  

The NZ ETS supports Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its emissions reduction goals by putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses must provide to the government a New Zealand Unit (NZU) for every tonne of climate pollution they emit.  

Participants in the NZ ETS can purchase NZUs through government auctions held four times per year. Auction settings are reviewed every year to ensure the NZ ETS is working well to support climate targets.  

  • Price control settings set a minimum and maximum price for NZUs at auction.  
  • Unit limit settings help “cap” the supply of units into the NZ ETS over time. This helps to keep emissions in line with greenhouse gas reduction targets. 

Read the annual updates to NZ ETS limits and price control settings for units 2024 consultation document [PDF, 711KB]

Read the proposed changes to NZ ETS regulations 2024 consultation document [PDF, 946KB]

Correction note:

The document “Annual updates to NZ ETS limits and price control settings for units 2024 consultation document” was first published on 15 May 2024. An updated version was published on 27 May 2024 to correct an error in the overall assessment of options in table 11: Options comparison for trigger prices.

Clarifications are also made to make it clear that the calculation of the base auction volume in Step 7 is based on the options recommended by the Climate Change Commission.

Webinars

Watch the webinar held on 28 May [Youtube]

Watch the webinar held on 29 May [Youtube]

The slides used to support the webinars held on 28 and 29 May are available here.