(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand has outlined new rules aimed at slowing the rate at which farmland is being converted into forestry for carbon credits.
The regulations will prevent owners of forests on the best farmland from registering their plantations in the Emissions Trading Scheme and will cap registrations from less productive land, the government said Wednesday in Wellington.
New Zealand has allowed polluters to offset their carbon dioxide emissions by buying credits generated by forestry. That drove up the value of trees and sparked a surge in purchases of land — frequently farms — for planting. The farming and meat industries objected to the threat and the new center-right government has agreed.
“These measures help to protect our most productive farmland while allowing room for sustainable forestry growth,” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said. “Landowners will retain the ability to make smart land use decisions, enhancing both profitability and environmental outcomes.”
The new policies, expected to be effective in October next year, deliver on a key election commitment to protect food production for farmers and also address the previous government’s policies that encouraged large-scale conversions, he said.
The new rules impose a moratorium on exotic forestry registrations from the most productive classes of farmed land, and cap annual registrations for certain non-arable land at 15,000 hectares a year, the government said.
Industry group Federated Farmers welcomed the changes, saying it will “stop the relentless march of pine trees across our productive farmland,” according to a statement. The cap is “a further step to safeguard against large-scale carbon farming,” it said.
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said the changes provide certainty for participants in the ETS and ensure that foresters, farmers, and investors can plan ahead with confidence.
“Forestry and agriculture both play an important part in our climate strategy,” he said. “It’s important we are incentivizing the right balance so New Zealand can have prosperous communities, increasing primary production and exports and a thriving economy while meeting our climate goals.”
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