Forestry and the Emissions Trading Scheme

In January 2008, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) began for forestry and required forest owners to differentiate whether their forests had been planted before or after 1990.

Emission regulations do not affect forests that existed before 1990 and they are not part of the ETS carbon minimisation policy.  However forests planted after 1990 are determined to be part of the carbon sink and are regulated.

Common terms and acronyms you will find associated with the Emissions Trading Scheme are;

ETS   Emissions Trading Scheme
CP1 Commitment Period 1
NZU NZ Unit, a carbon credit equal to 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent
AAU Assigned Amount Unit. An international carbon credit equal to 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent
 CER Certified Emissions Reduction. An international carbon credit equal to 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent.
Sequestration The act of a forest absorbing atmospheric carbon through the process of photosynthesis.
PFSI Permanent Forest Sink Initiative. A project that   promotes the establishment of permanent forests on previously unforested land.
FMA Field Measurement Approach.  The measurement of Carbon in order to derive a forest specific table.