New Zealand: Forestry
Govt vow ‘huge news’ for foresters
24 May 2013
The Government says it is committed to the Permanent Forest Sinks Initiative.
Bring back natives, says tree scientist
24 May 2013
Plantation forests could prove a valuable site for native forest regeneration.
Co-operate or crash, warns forests expert
26 Apr 2013
A forestry expert is calling for co-operation between farmers, conservation interests, scientists and officials to avoid a “biodiversity train-wreck” in New Zealand.
IT’S OFFICIAL: Forests make way for dairying
19 Apr 2013
Government figures have confirmed what the carbon market has known for months – forests are being cleared and converted to dairy farms on the back of rock-bottom carbon prices.
Wood industry report shows the way
8 Mar 2013
The wood industry’s investigation of future economic opportunities – including biofuels and biochemicals – is finished.
Forests emissions returns due soon
22 Feb 2013
Emissions returned for 2012 have been filed for nearly a fifth of post 1989-forests registered under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Wood-waste plant idea excites biofuel pioneer
8 Feb 2013
Ground-breaking biofuel company LanzaTech is interested in building a woody-waste gasification plant in New Zealand.
Low prices way out for pre-90 foresters
25 Jan 2013
Record-low carbon prices could see hundreds of thousands of hectares of pre-1990 plantation forest cleared or converted to post-1989 forest.
Second tranche units make an appearance
25 Jan 2013
Units from the second tranche of the pre-1990 forests allocation are starting to trickle into the market.
Profit-rich foresters might quit ETS
18 Jan 2013
Forest owners who have made a tidy profit by selling carbon high and buying low are now looking to quit the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Forest returns dragging the chain
18 Jan 2013
The sluggishness of the carbon market appears to be reflected in this year’s post-1989 forest carbon returns.
Forest owners to vote on industry voice
18 Jan 2013
Forest owners will vote in March on a plan that aims to give all commercial forest and woodlot owners a say in the future of their industry.
Everyman's guide to Tiger Country
23 Nov 2012
Forest owners and farmers now have access to detailed information about carrying out earthworks on steep hills that are often prone to erosion - the "tiger country" where plantation forests are increasingly grown.
Govt eyes better planting policies
2 Nov 2012
The Government is looking for new policies to encourage afforestation.
Dunne seems deaf to foresters' pleas
26 Oct 2012
The forestry industry is focusing its lobbying attention on United Future’s Peter Dunne to try to stop changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme which they say will stop planting in its tracks.
Worried forest owners urge Key to act
28 Sep 2012
The heads of eight major forestry companies have asked the Prime Minister to intervene directly over the flow of cheap foreign carbon credits into New Zealand.
Government lying to us, says forester
28 Sep 2012
The Government is being accused of lying to New Zealanders over plans to encourage afforesation as a means of reducing greenhouse gas levels.
Foresters put faith in new technology
24 Aug 2012
The forestry sector is pressing ahead with plans to transform itself by adopting new technologies to get the most out of its harvest.
Tasman pact aims to fight illegal logging
24 Aug 2012
New Zealand and Australia are to join forces to combat illegal logging.
We'll need years to get going, says forester
10 Aug 2012
Large-scale forest planting will not begin until several years after a substantial rise in carbon prices, a key industry player is warning.
Conference urges Govt to act on carbon
10 Aug 2012
A conference on feeding the world and saving the planet is calling for Government action to lift the price of carbon.
Foresters slam academic's pines attack
3 Aug 2012
Forest owners are dismayed at Otago University Professor Sir Alan Mark’s suggestion that he might assemble a group of activists to rip out forest seedlings on a farm near Dunedin.
Forester forms safe haven for kiwi
27 Jul 2012
Forestry company Ernslaw One is promising to look after kiwi living in one of its forests.
Foresters might swap carbon for cows
20 Jul 2012
Tumbling carbon prices could trigger the conversion of large tracts of forest into dairy farms, the forestry industry is warning.
ETS a Clayton's scheme, says forester
20 Jul 2012
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is now a Clayton’s scheme, says the man who spent five years fighting for carbon credits for forest owners.
What about us, ask forest owners
6 Jul 2012
Forest owners say the Government appears to be unconcerned about the tide of European carbon credits flooding on to the New Zealand market.
Trading pioneer waits and watches
6 Jul 2012
Thomas Song used to be a great fan of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Industry eyes mega wood-fuel plant
8 Jun 2012
A mega pulp-and-paper plant producing biofuel for the domestic market could be on the cards.
Foresters doing nicely, thank you
1 Jun 2012
Foresters are among the most active players in the domestic carbon market at the moment, picking up cheap units to cover future carbon liabilities at a substantial profit.
Carbon low brings halt to forest planting
18 May 2012
Forest planting – crucial to New Zealand’s emissions-reduction plans – has all but stopped in the face of record-low carbon prices.
ETS changing forestry, says minister
11 May 2012
The Emissions Trading Scheme is shifting New Zealand towards renewable energy and investment in forestry, the Government says.
Deadlines loom for forest owners
4 May 2012
Time is running out for the owners of more than 250,000ha of post-1989 forest to claim carbon credits earned between 2008 and 2012.
Partners eye Havard forest share
4 May 2012
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund confirmed that it and global investment firm GMO Renewable Resources were in discussions with Harvard Management Company over the possible purchase of Harvard’s majority stake in the Kaingaroa forest estate.
NZUs close to 12 million mark
27 Apr 2012
Nearly 12 million NZUs have been allocated so far to forest owners for carbon stored in their trees last year.
Some foresters might lose allocation
11 Apr 2012
The owners of pre-1990 forests might not get their next carbon credit allocation after all.
Build pulp-biofuel plant, urges expert
23 Mar 2012
New Zealand has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to build a mega pulp-and-paper mill that could also produce biofuel for the domestic market, the wood industry has been told.
Market revival in PFSI credits
23 Mar 2012
Interest in the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative is picking up again in the wake of indications that it will not be scrapped.
Storm damage could cost foresters
9 Mar 2012
Taranaki forest owners could face hefty carbon liabilities in the wake of last weekend’s destructive storm.
Door to Europe could open for foresters
27 Jan 2012
Possible rule changes in Europe could open the way for New Zealand forest owners to sell credits into the European Emissions Trading Scheme.
Smart growers profit from low carbon prices
20 Jan 2012
Savvy forest owners who sold carbon credits at the peak of the market are buying credits back again at severely depressed prices.
Forest owners fast out of the blocks
20 Jan 2012
Forest owners are proving quick off the mark this year in applying for carbon credits.
Prices force major forester to rethink
20 Jan 2012
Low carbon prices are causing one of our largest forestry companies to think twice about selling this year.
Durban knows our foresters are there
9 Dec 2011
New Zealand Forest Owners' Association chief executive DAVID RHODES reports from the Durban climate change negotiations:
Europe a turn-off for our forest owners
25 Nov 2011
New Zealand’s carbon trading future probably lies with Australia, Japan and parts of the United States and Canada, and not with Europe, says the chief executive of the Forest Owners' Association.
Offsetting OK ... but there's a catch
11 Nov 2011
The owners of pre-1990 forests will be allowed to replant in another area without penalty under a National Government – but there could be be a price to pay.
Some forest owners offered a break
4 Nov 2011
Owners of pre-1990 forests could be in line for an annual allocation of carbon credits under a Labour government.
Innocent forest owners will pay price
21 Oct 2011
Many forest owners are about to discover that they are in the Emissions Trading Scheme when they don’t have to be – an oversight which could cost them dearly.
Now you can smartphone your carbon content
21 Oct 2011
Online tables for calculating the carbon stored in forests are now available from smartphones.
Investors sniff out NZ forest fortunes
14 Oct 2011
New Zealand should expect intense interest in our carbon-sequestering forests from Australian investors, especially if the two countries’ emissions trading schemes are linked, says a company involved in carbon forestry on both sides of the Tasman.
Local govt shake-up risks weakened environmental outcomes – Commissioner
Fri 27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s push to simplify local government is "deeply flawed" and has been launched without a clear understanding of which functions must remain regional, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Gisborne leads NZ in solar battery uptake as resilience drives demand
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Battery storage is rapidly moving from add-on to mainstream in New Zealand’s residential solar market, with 2025 data showing stark regional differences in uptake, according to new analysis.
Govt's solar on farms initiative to cut costs, boost resilience
17 Feb 2026
Farms across Aotearoa will begin installing solar panels and battery systems as part of a government-backed demonstration programme designed to test whether on-farm renewable energy can reduce electricity costs and improve energy security for the food and fibre sector.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
