NZ makes progress on rules governing replanting of forests

New Zealand negotiators have made headway towards removing an obstacle to flexible land use in the Kyoto Protocol, though it is far from a done deal.

Kyoto's rules relating to pre-1990 plantation forests say that when those trees are felled, unless the land they stood on is replanted in trees, it counts as deforestation. All the carbon stored in the trees is deemed to be emitted to the atmosphere then and there and the country is accountable for those emissions.

The effect, now that deforestation liabilities have been devolved to owners of forested land under the emissions trading scheme, is to lock land into forestry even if it might be more productive if converted to another use like pastoral farming.

In the international negotiations, New Zealand has been arguing for a rule change to allow "offsetting".

Under this change the landowner would avoid deforestation liabilities (which at present prices amount to around $20,000 a hectare) provideda new forest is planted on bare land somewhere else which would mopup the same amount of carbon fromthe atmosphere as it grows.

A provision allowing that (for pre-1990 plantation forests) is included in the draft amendments to the Kyoto Protocol officials in Copenhagen put before ministers at the end of their negotiations last week.

The chair of those negotiations stressed, however, that "nothing is agreed until everything else is agreed".

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday, "We are a little isolated on the issue.

"I wouldn't want to be claiming victory yet."

Changes to the rules on land use change and forestry are among the conditions New Zealand has set for its target of reducing emissions to 10 to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

In Parliament last week, Mr Key was asked if had the authority to increase the 2020 target in Copenhagen.

The target would not be increased, the Prime Minister responded.

"What I am focused on is ... making sure New Zealand can successfully negotiate the conditions that we think are important for us to achieve a target of 10 to 20 per cent.

"If we do not negotiate those conditions we will not be able to achieve a target of 10 to 20 per cent."