It was through the Climate Change Response Act of 2002 that the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) was born. It is a scheme that provides incentives for any ecological restoration activity that results in reducing carbon emissions; emissions created mostly by big industries and corporations. Although ETS is designed to primarily carbon emissions, the scheme has been expanded to cover all courtesy of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

The issue of climate change has become a major global issue, and the reduction of carbon emissions has become the battle cry all over the country. Climate change is a serious threat that has debilitating long term effects if not address promptly and correctly by everyone affected by it.

As a landowner, you can no longer ignore the impact of climate change to your property. Shifting climate patterns and higher temperatures can affect the growth of such plants and the health of stock. Stronger greenhouse gases warm bodies of water and melt glaciers, affecting weather patterns which in turn affects your property and everything in it.

Fighting Back Climate Change With ETS

There is a way for you, as a landowner, to fight back against climate change. By applying for ETS and implementing the necessary restoration, you can make your property more resilient to the impact of climate change, protect your land for future use and development, and continue to earn from your property while protecting the environment.

Before any ETS takes place, a series of assessments is done in order to measure the carbon emissions of each industry, and to determine the measures that need to take place in order to reduce these emissions. The assessments include environmental assessment in the property, resources assessment and environmental monitoring.

The agricultural sector, which includes farmers and property owners, are required to assess their carbon emissions produced by their property and submit it as part of their obligation to ETS. This will determine the allocation or assistance provided for each farm under the ETS rule. The allocation will vary depending on the output of such farm.

The emissions are then converted to New Zealand Units (NZU) credit. The credit can then be cancelled out by implementing measures that reduce carbon emissions or by purchasing NZUs from properties that actively reduce carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

This is where landowners with forested areas can earn from ETS. If your property has a negative carbon footprint, you can sell its equivalent NZUs to industries who need it.

Another way to earn NZUs is through carbon farming. Carbon farming is the process of getting rid with carbon dioxide and storing it in a form of new forests. This covers forests or restored areas that were established after 1989. With this scheme, landowners and farmers too can either sell their units or offset their carbon emissions.

To become a voluntary participant, landowners can register their property by registering their property with the Ministry of Primary Industries, the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative or the East Coast Forestry Project to start earning and selling NZUs. Each application comes with a series of requirements that involve mapping the property, doing assessments and computing emissions. The application procedures are pretty straightforward but to get the most out of ETS, it’s best to consult a professional.

Not only would a professional help you with the ETS application process. We at Rural Design can go beyond that. We offer environmental assessment services to help target areas that produce the most carbon emissions and ecological restoration services to help offset that. We have rural landscape design, permaculture and replanting services to help expand your forested areas while allowing for maximum productivity.

And with your ETS application, we can facilitate with the preliminary assessment, mapping and filing. We can assist you with the carbon unit sequestration, unit sale and offset. Every possible angle for your ETS is covered, from environmental risk assessment to its impact. We have it for you. Our list of completed projects with ETS will attest to that.

Carbon emission reduction is for everyone and participating in the ETS can provide long term returns for you and your property. By making the most of the carbon emissions trading scheme, you can help the environment and continue to make your property productive for years to come.