Frequently
asked questions
What
is climate change and what is being done to address the resulting
problems?
What
are carbon credits and how are they created?
Aren't
carbon credits a 'windfall' theoretical concept created by
Governments?
What
is a Carbon Sink?
What
are the benefits of a Carbon Sink Forest?
How
quickly is the World’s forest area diminishing?
Does
New Zealand have Forest Sinks?
How
much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere?
How
long does carbon dioxide stay in the atmosphere?
How
efficient is a forest in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere?
How
much carbon is released by wood compared with other materials?
What
are the environmental and cost benefits of emissions trading?
What
effect will the NZ Governments appropriation of carbon credits
have?
What
is Climate Change and what has been done to address the resulting
problems?
Our atmosphere contains concentrations of so called "greenhouse
gases". These gases act like a blanket that keeps in
some of the sun's warmth, making life on earth possible. The
blanket is getting "thicker". The effect of this
thicker blanket of CO2 is to trap heat closer to the Earth's
surface which is expected to lead to an overall increase in
temperature. In turn, this is expected to lead to changes
in the Earth's climate, commonly referred to as "climate
change" or "global warming." Two important
international agreements deal with the threat of global climate
change; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (the Convention) negotiated by the world's nations
in 1992, and the Kyoto Protocol, a further agreement negotiated
in accordance with the Convention in 1997. The objective of
these agreements is to stabilise and reduce GHG concentrations
at a level that avoids dangerous human interference with the
climate system. New Zealand is one of over 180 countries to
have signed and ratified the Convention. Back
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What
are carbon credits and how are they created?
A Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change was adopted in Kyoto in 1997. This Kyoto Protocol establishes
legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for
developing countries. Under Article 3.3 to the Protocol a
planted forest, which was established after 1 January 1990
(a Kyoto Forest )on previously cleared land, will count as
a carbon sink. The carbon dioxide sequestered in such a forest
can be used to create carbon credits. The Protocol proposed
emissions trading would allow countries and individual companies
to buy and sell carbon credits created by activities that
reduce the level of GHG emissions. Back
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Aren’t
carbon credits a ‘windfall’ theoretical concept
created by Governments?
Carbon credits are not a fortuitus 'windfall' for forest owners
and forestry investors. They have long recognised the potential
value of carbon credits created by carbon sinks on their properties
and factored this value in when making a forestry investment.
However there are many examples of crops, chemicals and industrial
products finding new uses with technological advances, the
amount of carbon sequestered by a forest is as measurable
and quantifiable as the timber harvested. Both are the owners
private property right. Back
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What
is a Carbon Sink?
Sinks are any natural or man-made systems that absorb and
store greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). A growing
or expanding forest is a sink. Sinks are of benefit because
CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, where it would otherwise
contribute to global warming Approximately 25% of the fresh
weight of timber is carbon so if a forest grows at 10 cubic
metres per hectare per year this would be equivalent to 10
fresh tonnes, 5 dry tonnes and 2.5 tonnes of carbon. Back
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What
are the benefits of a Carbon Sink Forest?
Trees can be used as a sink for carbon dioxide. Increasing
the amount of carbon stored in trees means that a country
does not have to reduce the use of fossil fuels as much. Storing
more carbon in trees whilst maintaining current emission levels
would have a net effect of reducing a country’s overall
emissions of carbon dioxide as is required by the Kyoto protocol.
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How
quickly is the World’s forest area diminishing?
It is estimated that over 46% of the world’s old growth
forest has been destroyed. In 1999 16 million hectares was
lost. A World Resources Institute (WRI) report released 02
April 2002 stated that 40% of the world's forests may be wiped
out in 20 years. The president of the WRI said, "As we
examined what we thought were still vast, untouched stretches
of intact forests in the world, we came to the conclusion
that they are fast becoming a myth". The WRI found that
Russia, which has the largest forests in the world, the semi
arctic or boreal forest has only a quarter left undisturbed.
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Does
New Zealand have Forest Sinks?
New Zealand's plantation forests planted since 1990 have significantly
increased in area and the role these forests play in removing
CO2 is an important component of New Zealand's climate change
policy. During the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period,
2008-2012, New Zealand "Kyoto forests" are expected
to remove approximately 100 million tonnes of CO2. The average
new planting rate over the last 30 years has been 43,500 hectares
per year. Over the period 1992 to 2000 new planting rates
have been high. Over this eight-year period 520,000 hectares
of forest have been established, giving an average planting
rate of 65,000 hectares per year. Back
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How
much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere?
Before the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2
in the atmosphere had hardly changed over hundreds of years.
This was because the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere
by the CO2 sinks equalled the amount released to the atmosphere
from the CO2 sources. Human activity has resulted in CO2 being
released from sources faster than the sinks can absorb it,
so the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased.
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How
long does carbon dioxide stay in the atmosphere?
All gases stay in the atmosphere for a certain length of time
before they are removed by sinks. This time is known as the
atmospheric lifetime of a gas. Carbon dioxide has an atmospheric
lifetime of between 50 - 200 years. This means that carbon
dioxide will be present in the atmosphere for at least 50
years before it is absorbed by a sink or becomes part of another
chemical reaction. Consequently, carbon dioxide emitted into
the atmosphere today could cause global warming for two centuries
to come. Back
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How
efficient is a forest in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere?
While a cubic meter of wood contains about 250 kg of carbon,
a cubic meter of air contains about 0.117 grams of carbon.
This means that a cubic meter of wood contains the same amount
of carbon as 1.4 million cubic meters of air. Trees are not
only capable of fixing carbon but also of concentrating it
to an incredible extent. A forest growing at the rate of 10
m3 wood per hectare per year is absorbing the carbon from
14 million m3 of air (a column of air 1400 meters high on
one hectare). The combination of photosynthesis and a tree's
ability to lay down wood (cellulose and lignin) acts as a
powerful concentrator of carbon from the atmosphere into a
fixed form. There is no parallel human technology that is
capable of performing this kind of carbon concentration. Back
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How
much carbon is released by wood compared with other materials?
One tonne of lumber used in construction results in the release
of 30 kg carbon and the storage of 250 kg carbon. One tonne
of steel used in construction results in the release of 700
kg carbon and zero storage of carbon. One tonne of concrete
used in construction results in the release of 50 kg carbon
and zero storage of carbon. Back
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What
are the environmental and cost benefits of emissions trading?
The KFA support the proposition that emissions trading be
used in conjunction with emissions reductions to bring about
a least cost approach to meeting New Zealand’s reduction
in greenhouse gas commitments under the Kyoto Protocol."
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What
effect will the Governments appropriation of carbon credits
have?
The KFA believe the Governments appropriation of their credits
lacks environmental integrity and provides little positive
incentive to protect and enhance existing sinks. It removes
certainty and confidence from business; particularly the implication
that privately acquired assets can be expropriated by the
State, without compensation. Expropriation without compensation
is inconsistent with common law and will as a consequence
pose a risk of significant legal liability to the Crown.
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