3rd Annual Emissions Trading & Policy Summit

About

After months of uncertainty, proposed changes, industry submissions and significant controversy, the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Act has been passed by parliament.

It’s time to focus on understanding the changes, and implementing the ETS. By March next year, some organisations will be in the reporting phase, others will only be three months away from entering the compliance and surrender period. How prepared is your organisation for the new requirements?

The 3rd Annual Emissions Trading & Policy Summit will feature local and international speakers to share useful, up-to-date and practical information on climate change policy implementation and carbon markets.

Agenda

Agenda: Day 1

8.30

Registration & Coffee

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Alistair Dixon, Director, KEA 3 Limited

9.10

Under the microscope: New Zealand emissions trading scheme

The Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Act has been passed; it is less rigorous than the one introduced by the previous Labour government. Under the new law, all sectors of the economy will be affected, starting with industry, energy and transport in July 2010. Agriculture will come under it in 2015, two years later than under the original ETS. This session will examine the New Zealand in detail, including:
• Have the changes to the ETS allowed for a smoother transition for business?
• Has it reached a right balance between the economy and the environment?
• Has the revised ETS impacted on New Zealand’s economy? Will it?
• New Zealand’s emissions targets of 10-20 per cent by 2020: Weak or enough?
• How viable is the New Zealand ETS in the long term? Can it meet the 50% reduction in GHG target by 2050?

John Carnegie, Manager Energy Environment & Infrastructure, Business NZ

10.00

Morning tea

10.20

International Address: Outlining Australia’s climate change regulations

Similarly to New Zealand, Australia’s climate change regulations have also been delayed and changed a couple of times. In this session, Rob Fowler will outline where the legislation is in Australia, including:
• Overview of the latest amendments
• How will Australia cut its emissions by five per cent on 2000 levels by 2020?
• Exempting agriculture from the emissions trading scheme
• Harmonisation with New Zealand ETS

Rob Fowler, Emissions Trading Specialist, Booz & Company (Aust) Pty Ltd

11.10

Trans-Tasman harmonisation: Challenges and opportunities

Although New Zealand and Australia have distinct emissions profiles, both countries are looking at a harmonised approach to their emissions trading schemes, including the extent of coverage across the economy. And whilst there are clear benefits in harmonising the administrative aspects of both schemes, such as facilitate trade and reduce the risk of leakage, staying in synchronisation may not be easy.
• Benefits and pitfalls of pursuing harmonisation
• What will it take to achieve harmonisation?
• Will the harmonised rules make it simpler for organisations to comply?

Peter Wilson, Group Manager Climate Change, Vector

12.00

Lunch

1.00

Climate change policy: Looking backward and forward

• Reflections on the ETS legislative process
• Lessons for regulatory policy
• The outlook after Copenhagen
• Reconciling climate change policy and catching Australia by 2025
• How should business seek to influence future policy?

Roger Kerr, Executive Director, New Zealand Business Roundtable

1.45

Panel Discussion: Party views on Climate Change and Emissions Trading

Charles Chauvel, Labour Party Spokesperson on Climate Change
Dr Russel Norman, Green Party Co-Leader & Spokesperson
John Boscawen, MP, Act Party

2.20

Assessing the costs of climate change policy in New Zealand

Over the past four years the New Zealand Government has had several stabs at passing climate change legislation. From the proposed carbon tax in 2005 to Labour’s Emissions Trading Scheme and National’s revised version a consistent trend has been towards ever less effective application of simple economics and ever-increasing concern with appeasing powerful lobby groups at the expense of the wider public. This session will set out numerical estimates of who pays, who gains, what happens to emissions and forests, and what are the long-term implications for the New Zealand economy of the very large production subsidies to emission-intensive industries that have been central to both Labour’s and National’s ETS legislation.

Geoff Bertram, Senior Associate Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

3.10

Afternoon tea

3.25

How will the ETS affect Fletcher Building?

• Being both a point of obligation and eligible for free allocation
• Meeting the requirements to surrender units
• Defining activities that are eligible for free allocation
• Confirming allocation baselines
• Reporting and data

Hans Buwalda, Environment Health & Safety Manager, Fletcher Building Group

4.05

Forestry perspective on New Zealand ETS

This session will examine how the forestry sector fits into the New Zealand ETS. David will look at how forests produce units, the timing of units when forests are grown, as well as the risks of forests and how these can be managed.
• What is the potential for Forests in ETS?
• How may forests fit into an emitters’ portfolio
• Constraints on forest development
• Risks in growing forests and risk management options.
• Requirement to repay at harvest or loss situations

David Janett, Director, Forest Management Limited

4.50

Carbon Forestry: Opportunities for using forestry offsets

Forestry has long been marginalised within compliance carbon markets, however its legitimacy and importance as a tool to mitigate climate change is beginning to gain recognition. This presentation will examine the acceptance of forestry in emerging compliance regimes, and the major part forestry can play within the NZ ETS. NZ forests are expected to be the main source of offsets for domestic emitters as obligations under the NZ ETS begins later this year. Mark will discuss whether emitters should be taking positions now in securitising delivery of offsets or investing directly in forest projects themselves. Mark will also cover how compliance buyers and foresters can interact and the importance of pooling.

Mark Belton, Managing Director, Permanent Forests International

5.10

Closing remarks from the Chair

5.15

Networking Drinks

Agenda: Day 2

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Alistair Dixon, Principal Consultant, KEA 3 Limited

9.05

Ministerial Address: The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

Craig Foss, MP National Party

9.35

Agriculture perspective on New Zealand ETS

As one of the key emitting sectors, the agriculture sector contributes 91% of the total New Zealand methane emissions and 96% of the total nitrous oxide emissions. With the new legislation, dairy and meat processors, instead of individual farmers, will be responsible for emissions from 2015. This session will look at these and other impacts of the new ETS on the agricultural sector.
• Examining the criteria that will determine sector participation decision in 2015
• Should the point of obligation be set at the farm level or at dairy and meat processors?
• Does the new ETS encourage individual farmers to reduce their emissions? How could it?
• What about the basis for allocation of free units?

Viewpoint 1: Don Nicolson, President, Federated Farmers
Viewpoint 2: Simon Tucker, General Manager, Policy & Advocacy

10.25

International Address: Climate change and the role of the financial sector

Climate change, and the subsequent policy response, will have significant economic, social and environmental impacts. For The Westpac Group this means that investment, lending and development decisions must take these impacts into account. Emma Herd will discuss how Westpac is positioning its business to meet customers’ needs by understanding and managing carbon credit risks.
• The state of play for emissions trading in Australia
• The financial perspective on carbon
• What role will banks play in a carbon constrained economy?

Emma Herd, Director Emissions & Environment, Westpac Banking Corporation

11.10

Morning tea

11.30

Emissions reductions – A city council perspective

Since 2007 Wellington City Council has been implementing policies and programmes that will help Wellington reduce its emissions and become New Zealand’s first carbon neutral city. Chris Cameron will examine the council’s long term vision and strategy towards carbon neutrality, including:
• Implementation objectives and timelines
• Measuring carbon footprints and working towards carbon offset
• Measures in place focussed on transport, energy, sustainable buildings and water conservation

Bryan Smith, Principal Adviser - Policy Team, Wellington City Council

12.15

Comparison – The CAP price versus New Zealand credits

The government’s CAP price of $25 per tonne creates some interesting price opportunities for buyers and sellers of New Zealand credits. In this presentation, Nigel Brunel will examine all the assumptions that you can apply to the value of New Zealand credits to create a value then apply that to the CAP.

Nigel Brunel, Carbon Trading, OMFinancial Limited

1.00

Lunch

1.40

Financial markets and carbon trading

• Establishing the market and financial instruments
• Auctioning and permit allocation management strategies
• What products and services will support market development?
• What will impact the price and other market fundamentals?

Murray Dyer, Director, NZCX
Stuart Frazer, Director, Frazer Lindstrom

2.25

Analysing the legal challenges, implications and opportunities from carbon trading

Understand the legal implications and requirements from the revised ETS, risks and opportunities associated with climate change as well as carbon trading issues.
• Sources of emissions units - international and domestic
• Contractual approaches to buying and selling various types of units
• Managing the regulatory and commercial risks in sale and purchase contracts
• What are the risks and opportunities provided by climate policies?
• How are organisations dealing with obtaining credits?


Steve Nightingale, Partner, Buddle Findlay
Alastair Cameron, Senior Associate, Buddle Findlay

3.10

Afternoon tea

3.25

Examining the role of the voluntary carbon market

The voluntary carbon market is a potentially valuable policy tool in the emissions reduction tool box. They are particularly relevant as a complementary measure to drive behaviour change from the bottom-up. This session will examine:
• The potential role of the voluntary market as a complementary measure to a regulatory ETS
• The double counting issue
• The role of the voluntary market in supporting activities/sectors not covered by compliance (e.g. soil carbon, pre-1990 forests, international aviation)
• The buyers of voluntary units
• The opportunities to include a range of co-benefits (water security, water quality, effluent mitigation, social, biodiversity and others)

Sean Weaver, Principal, Carbon Partnership Ltd

4.10

Closing discussions

The past two days have focused on a broad range of emissions trading issues and implications to New Zealand. In this closing session speakers and delegates are invited we take a look at the outcomes of these discussions and their implications for addressing climate change.
Pty Ltd

Alistair Dixon, Principal Consultant, KEA 3 Limited
Rob Fowler, Emissions Trading Specialist, Booz & Company (Aust)

4.30

Closing remarks from the Chair

Sponsors/Partners

Interested in sponsorship?

There are some exclusive opportunities to promote your company, and its products and services, at this leading event. Contact the sponsorship team below to request a prospectus or discuss the options, or view more about event sponsorship.