At the time, Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser described commentary by Carbon News and others that the decision would exclude New Zealand from international markets as “ill-informed”, saying that New Zealand emitters would continue to have access to them until the end of 2015.
But now officials in the New Zealand Emissions Unit Register (NZEUR) have confirmed that New Zealand will be barred from trading in almost all Kyoto credits generated under the second commitment period, New Zealand’s specialist carbon market information service, Carbon News, reported late last month.
“As of 1 January, 2013, only countries that have taken an emission limitation and reduction commitment under the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period (2013-19) may trade in CP2 Kyoto units,” statement on the registry website says.
The only exception will be CERs generated by ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ projects that New Zealand companies are directly involved in.
The statement says that the change means that while international credits generated under the first commitment period could continue to be transferred in and out of the New Zealand Registry up until the end of the true-up period (expected in 2015-2016), credits generated under the second commitment period may not come into the registry.
“NZEUR account holders will be unable to purchase and transfer in or out of the NZEUR, any units generated for emission limitations and reductions during CP2, with the exception of primary CERs,” the statement says.
“NZEUR account holders that are CDM project participants will continue to have CP2 CERs forwarded into their NZEUR accounts by the CDM Registry, but they will be unable to export the CERs out of the NZEUR.”
Carbon News says last year more than 13.5 million CERs were brought into the New Zealand Registry from overseas.
