posted on March 15, 2010 15:24
Presenters from the Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and CarboNZero joined with local and national experts to hold a seminar on the Emissions Trading Scheme on Thursday, 11 March 2010 at Ascot Park Hotel.
The seminar was well attended by more than 70 businesses and members of the public. Venture Southland has received positive feedback from those who attended the seminar, with common themes being that it was enjoyable, interesting and informative, with many enjoying the interactive aspect, which allowed the audience to ask questions and to voice their opinions.
Kathryn Wilson from the Ministry for the Environment opened the seminar by stating that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is New Zealand's response to the Kyoto Protocol. Ms Wilson then provided an overview of the ETS and how it works. This was backed up by a break down of New Zealand's gas emissions from 2007, which showed a 27% increase in emissions from 1990.
Whilst fast-rising emissions are a concern, Ms Wilson said New Zealand is taking the lead globally in research into reducing emissions from the agriculture sector - our country's largest producer of emissions. The audience also heard what challenges the ETS will bring to each industry sector and how it will affect businesses in Southland.
Other speakers included Mike Mitchell from Independent Forestry Solutions who quantified some of the new opportunities the ETS has created, Denis Albert from MAF talked about funding opportunities and incentives for native and introduced species plantings and Kathryn Hailes from carboNZero spoke about business opportunities in voluntary offsets, and the importance of verifiable emissions reporting.
Emeritus Professor Arthur Williamson explained what carbon capture and sequestration opportunities involved, Alex Fowler from One Northeast in the UK spoke about the UK ETS and how their region was addressing the challenges of creating low carbon economies and Karyn Owen from Venture Southland spoke about the assistance available to Southland businesses on www.sustainablesouthland.co.nz
Copies of the presentations given can be found on www.sustainablesouthland.co.nz under “emissions”.
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