Consult, Manage, Change

Are yours up or down??

  Do you measure your GHG emissions inventories?? If so is the trend line down or up??

Here is an example of a trend UP!

German chemical giant BASF's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose by almost 8pc to 29.3mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) last year, the company said in its 2009 financial report.

BASF blamed its purchase of Switzerland-based specialty chemicals firm Ciba, as well repair and installation work at a nitrous oxide (NOx) decomposer for plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany, for the sharp rise.

Lower capacity utilisation also meant the efficiency of its plants declined during 2009. BASF is targeting a 25pc drop in specific GHG emissions, measured per tonne of sales product, against 2002 levels by 2020, although 2009 specific emissions remained flat against the 2002 baseline. Specific GHG emissions had been over 14pc lower than the baseline in 2008, an improvement that has now been reversed.

The firm hopes the newly installed catalysts for breaking down NOx at the Ludwigshafen site, along with reductions from its logistics and transport divisions, will help put it back on track to meet its goal.

The oil and gas division's GHG emissions rise by over a quarter to 1.8mn t of CO2e last year. The division intends to eliminate flaring of unwanted gas from its crude production sites by 2012.

This will hurt them as the European ETS has big penalties for emissions increases.

Remember that if you want external help to measure your GHG inventory be sure to use a firm that is:

• Independent
• a member of a suitable professional body such as a Certified Management Consultant
• can demonstrate they have experience in GHG measurement
• understand all of the relevant standards

Consultation on pre-1990 forest land allocation announced

The "Sustainable Forestry Bulletin" recently sent me this message that I want to reproduce for you all to read as it is a subject some of you will have an interest in.

 

New consultation on the pre-1990 forest land allocation

The Pre-1990 Forest Land Allocation Plan (Consultation Draft) has been released today for the allocation of New Zealand Units (NZUs) to owners of pre-1990 forest land.

The Consultation Draft supersedes the Draft Forestry Allocation Plan released in October 2008. All submissions received in response to the 2008 Draft Plan were carefully considered. Where supported by the Government, options put forward in previous submissions have been included in the current proposed changes.

A new allocation plan is required because of the changes to the forestry provisions of the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that are proposed in the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill (see Issue 8 of this bulletin for further details).

Note that submissions to the Select Committee considering the Amendment Bill closed on 13 October 2009. Current legislation and regulations still apply until changes are passed into law by Parliament.

The pre-1990 forest land allocation policy

Under the ETS, emissions arising from the deforestation of more than 2 hectares of exotic pre 1990 forest land after 1 January 2008 are automatically included in the ETS unless the land has been exempted. To offset some of the impact of the rules of the ETS, New Zealand Units (NZUs) are to be allocated to eligible owners of pre-1990 exotic forest land.

Eligible landowners will need to decide in the first half of 2010 whether to either:

• apply for an allocation of NZUs; or
• if eligible, apply to have their land exempted from the NZ ETS (under the less-than-50 ha exemption, or the tree weed exemption).

The allocation of NZUs is 18, 39 or 60 units per hectare depending on when and how the landowner acquired the land. All eligible recipients will be transferred part of their entitlement (38%) in Commitment Period 1 (1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012); the balance will be transferred after 2012.

The forestry allocation has significant value. Landowners will not be obliged to apply for either an allocation of NZUs or one of the exemptions but it may be in their financial interests to do so. The Government expects most, if not all, eligible landowners will apply for either an allocation or an exemption.

This consultation

The Consultation Draft of the Pre-1990 Forest Land Allocation Plan that we are seeking feedback on follows the proposed policy and process requirements in the Amendment Bill. Specifically, we seek your feedback on:

• Which landowner should receive an allocation of units if forest land was recently sold?
• When does a shareholding change become an ownership change, and how to determine when ownership was transferred?
• What information should be provided with applications?
• What records must be kept and for how long?

These elements of the Allocation Plan will not be prescribed by the ETS legislation once it is amended.

The public can make submissions on the Consultation Draft until November 22, 2009. For a copy of the consultation draft or to make an online submission, visit www.maf.govt.nz/sustainable-forestry, call 0800 CLIMATE (254 628) or email: climatechange@maf.govt.nz.

MAF grants $4 million for new forests

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has granted $4 million to 42 recipients to plant new forests.

MAF Programmes Director Clive Lilley says the third round of the Afforestation Grant Scheme's (AGS) public tender round, which closed on 30 April, saw a total of $4,020,993 granted to projects around New Zealand for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years

"The 42 projects will create 2688 hectares of new forest in 2009 and 2010 at an average price of $1789 per hectare in the high sequestration pool and $650 per hectare in the low sequestration pool.

"It will be allocated to projects in the Waikato, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu/Wanganui, Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland regions.

"MAF received 68 tenders in this last round, double the number received in the previous round, indicating very strong interest in the Scheme."

Mr Lilley said since the AGS got underway in June last year over $6.9 million has been allocated to projects totaling over 4,495 hectares.

All available funding has now been allocated for the 2010/11 financial year, which means there will be no tender round for this October.

The next tender round is planned to close on 30 March 2010. Mr Lilley said 16 eligible tenders that have not been able to be approved due to demand exceeding available funding have been held over and may be approved as further funding becomes available.

Next year’s round will be for projects starting in the 2011/12 financial year.

For further information on the AGS or to download an AGS Public Tender Form, see: http://www.maf.govt.nz/climatechange/forestry/initiatives/ags/

The Sustainability Forestry Bulletin

The "Sustainable Forestry Bulletin" is about keeping you and others with an interest in forestry informed. Please feel free to forward it on to others who might be interested.

To subscribe to the Bulletin, please email sustainableforestrybulletin@maf.govt.nz with ‘Subscribe: Sustainable Forestry Bulletin’ in the subject line and your contact details in the body of the email.

If you have any questions relating to anything in this Bulletin or other forestry matters, please email your enquiries to: climatechange@maf.govt.nz or ring 0800 CLIMATE (254 628).

ETS 101 - a starting guide

There is much debate in NZ on the proposed NZETS. We must remember that an ETS is not the total solution to all of the emission problems nor is it the only response.

To follow is a 101 guide to ETS.

It has always been our position that being sustainable is good for business! This is now bearing fruit as there is a direct positive economic impact related to the cost of carbon under and NZETS.

For example if the power price is set to rise in the NZETS then being more energy efficient will save you money! We think this is a "no brainer"!

Emissions Trading

 

Emissions trading is a policy instrument available to mitigate GHG emissions. It involves putting a limit on the quantity of GHG emissions that can be emitted to the atmosphere over a set period of time – the “emissions cap”

 

Government policy documents state that emissions trading schemes are internationally recognised as an equitable, effective and efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Emitters of carbon will need to purchase carbon credits. As carbon is emitted, the credits that a business holds/processes will need to be surrendered, effectively “paying” for the greenhouse gasses produced.

 

GHG emissions are usually converted to their carbon dioxide equivalent [CO₂e]

 

Trading participants can then purchase and sell emission allowances in order to meet their emissions cap.

 

Emissions trading operates like a commodity market where the price is determined by the Market based on the relative supply.

 

The price of the emission allowance [the carbon price] is the financial incentive to limit emissions.

 

Emissions trading alone will not be sufficient to achieve the global reductions in GHG emissions that are required to stabilise atmospheric GHG concentrations, but ETS is the principal instrument that governments are employing in the first instance.

 

Any ETS system has advantages and disadvantages. Potential advantages of an ETS include:

 

• The guarantee of a specific emissions reduction [abatement] outcome which is set by an emission cap
• Can lead to the use of innovation and business responses to reduce the resource intensity and affect of business on GHG emissions

 

Potential disadvantages can include:

 

• The carbon price is not known in advance
• Can be costly to establish
• If free rebates and permits are offered then economic distortions can occur

 

Cap and Trade

 

New Zealand has chosen a cap and trade system. This involves setting a specific limit (a cap) on the quantity of emissions that can be released to the atmosphere from a specified group of emission sources over a given time period.

 

For an ETS to be effective and efficient as a mitigation instrument the trading  system should cover some of the following key principles:

 

• Maximum emissions coverage
• Provide a clear market incentive to reduce emissions
• Be embodied in long term government policy
• Maximise administration efficiencies to reduce compliance costs
• Have a clear set of standards that allow for accurate emissions accounting
• Provide economic efficiency and equity

 

What is the ETS

 

Under an ETS, prices are established for units to emit greenhouse gases. It is hoped that these prices influence decisions by producers, consumers and investors, in their decision making around the reduction of emissions and to look at viable alternatives.

 

Put more simply, essentially, if you create emissions, say by using fossil fuels by driving your car e.g. petroleum, it costs you units (so called carbon credits). If you create a carbon sink (plant trees) that then soak up carbon emissions, you create credit units that can be traded.

If you have any questions or comments let us know?

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.5% in 2008 - can NZ do the same?

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.5% in 2008

31 August 2009 - Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU declined for the fourth year running last year, according to preliminary data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday. Emissions were down by 1.5% across the bloc and 1.3% in the old EU-15.

This brought EU-27 emissions to 10.7% below 1990 levels, more than halfway to the EU's legally-binding target of a 20% cut by 2020. In the EU-15, emissions in 2008 were 6.2% below 1990 levels. This confirms the region is well on track to reach its Kyoto target, said environment commissioner Stavros Dimas.

But Mr Dimas acknowledged that part of the reduction comes from the economic slowdown, which significantly brought down production levels and related emissions. He urged member states to swiftly implement the EU's climate and energy package to continue this downward trend.

Earlier this year, the European Commission reported a 3% drop in industrial emissions of greenhouse gases in 2008. Analysts primarily attributed the decrease to the recession. Last week, a report showed the world's largest companies are unlikely deliver cuts recommended by scientists.

This is the first time the EEA has published provisional data for the previous year so early. Emissions data for 2007 were only published three months ago. EU emissions fell by 1.2% that year compared to 0.3% in 2006. A final report on the 2008 data will be published in June 2010.

Internationally, ongoing climate negotiations are making slow progress.During a meeting in Bonn in August, the UNFCCC released figures showing pledges made by rich nations would only amount to a 15-21% cut. Governments will continue their discussions at a G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, on 24-25 September.

Japan's Democratic Party, which swept to power on Sunday, has pledged to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. The previous government had proposed an 8% reduction .

What can we learn form what the EU is achieving?

My view is that they took the pain and got an ETS up and running early and now they are reaping the rewards!

Carbon Certification - good or bad for consumers? You be the judge!

If you have read this BLOG before you will know that we have posted information about carbon certification, carbon credits, green washing and the need for consumers to understand more fully any carbon neutral claims.

Recently the local cab company here in Wellington - Wellington Combined Cabs have gone certified carbon neutral by using the carboNZero certification system.

As a user of taxis I have witnessed first had that changes this cab company has made to its fleet make up. First they allowed hybrids in the fleet and then diesel vehicles and now there is a total focus on emissions efficient vehicles and vehicles that can use alternative fuels. Yesterday I saw a Hyundai i30 diesel on the cab rank on Lambton Quay.

The Wellington Combined summary of certification document makes interesting reading for any user of taxis. I suggest you consider the exclusions from the GHG emissions inventory and how this might apply to you or your business?

It will be interesting to see how another Wellington Cab Company "Green Cabs" responds to Wellington Combined marketing strategy?

As we have always said the use of taxis needs to meet the "fit for purpose test" and you need to consider a number of factors when selecting your preferred taxi suppler.

To follow is the latest marketing material from Wellington Combined on its carboNZero certification.

Emission reduction units - Carbon Credits - Off set your emissions

Today I have been looking at the opportunity to purchase voluntary emission reduction units.

My first point of call was TradeMe as they have a market for carbon credits.

As stated in previous posts the key thing with carbon credits is to investigate and research the details of what you are intending to purchase. You do not want to end up with JUNK CREDITS!!

One of the companies that has carbon credit listed is Carbon Market Solutions- they are offering verified credits at around $20 NZD per tonne.

One of the key issues I looked at today was that the credits were registered on a valid carbon registry. I had a look at regi The Registry Company and was able to search the register to confirm that the credits offered by Carbon Market Solutions were registered and accounted for.

The voluntary carbon market in New Zealand is growing and we need to make purchasing decisions based on fact not marketing hype.