Industrial Allocation
Issue 12, 24 March 2011

Welcome to this issue of our e-newsletter. The newsletter keeps you up to date on the regulations-making process for allocating emissions unit (NZUs) to businesses under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).

In this issue:

  1. Reconstituted Wood Panels: New eligible activity
  2. Deadline for applications - 30th April 2011
  3. Make sure the information you provide is correct
  4. Survey results
  5. Recap of the March horticulture and floriculture workshops
  6. Christchurch earthquake

1. Reconstituted Wood Panels: New eligible activity

Applications for industrial allocations for reconstituted wood panels open on 24 March 2011 and will close on 24 June 2011. Regardless of whether you submitted information in the call for data, if you carry out the activity, as defined in the regulations, you are able to make applications for New Zealand Units.

These applications are a final allocation for 2010, which covers the period 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010, and a provisional allocation for 2011, which covers the whole 2011 year. For more information on making an application, to view the regulations and to apply, please visit the Climate Change website.

If you need assistance, please email etsallocations@mfe.govt.nz

2. Deadline for applications - 30th April 2011

The deadline for making an application for an allocation of New Zealand Units is 30 April 2011 (for all eligible activities other than reconstituted wood panels). The legislation does not allow us to extend this deadline.

As this is a Saturday, it is highly recommended you make an application as soon as you are able, rather than waiting until the last day. Also, the Emissions Unit Register and 0800 call line will be unavailable over Easter. The sooner you make your application, the quicker a decision can be made and the sooner you will receive any units you may be eligible for.

3. Make sure the information you provide is correct

If an error is found in your application, you may be required to reapply. This is especially important, as the Climate Change Response Act 2002 does not allow you to reapply after the deadline. In this case you will either have to wait until next year to apply for the units or, for final applications, you will have missed the opportunity to receive units for 2010 altogether.

Please take care when opening your Emissions Unit Register account and filling out the application form, especially when entering the applicant’s legal name. When entering the legal name for a sole trader or a partnership, for instance, please ensure you enter the individual’s or partners’ names, not the trading name of the business.

4. Survey results

In late 2010, you may have taken part in our survey about the services provided by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry for the Environment in relation to your industrial allocations. The general views from the survey are that:

  • most people were able to get the information they needed, however the process may not have been as straight forward as expected;
  • staff were helpful and responded appropriately to queries and requests;
  • people were satisfied with the quality of service they received from both the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry for the Environment.

However, there is always room for improvement, so the Ministry for the Environment has focussed on two areas we would like to improve as a result of the survey.

The first is the Climate Change website, in particular its ease of use. We have made it easier for people to find the application form and to get information about the process.

The second is our responsiveness. Although the results of the survey were generally positive, a small number felt that we did not do what we said we would. To improve this we are putting in more effort to maintain communication and establish good processes. We are logging and following up all requests within our database. We are also returning all phone calls and responding to queries as promptly as possible.

5. Recap of the March horticulture and floriculture workshops

Workshops were held in Whangarei, Auckland and Palmerston North during the first week of March. The emphasis was to give a brief background to ETS allocations, as well as informing attendees on how to open an EUR account and how to apply for New Zealand Units.

The workshops were well received and provided us with a great opportunity to hear your views on the process. For those that couldn’t attend, the Climate Change website has the information covered in the workshops.

6. Christchurch earthquake

As a result of the recent earthquake, we cancelled the workshop scheduled for Christchurch. We hope the earthquake did not affect those of you in Christchurch too greatly. Over the next few weeks we will be making contact with you to talk about the application process. In the mean time, if you have concerns about meeting the deadline for applications for New Zealand Units please call 0800 CLIMATE or email etsallocations@mfe.govt.nz.

 

Freephone: 0800 CLIMATE (0800) 254 628
Email: etsallocations@mfe.govt.nz