A 2026 update to our Guide to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

Apr 30, 2026

We have released our 2026 edition of A Guide to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, updating the 2022 version of this resource. 

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) sits at the centre of Aotearoa New Zealand's climate change mitigation strategy. The guide describes how the scheme works, outlines its core design features, and traces how and why those features have changed over time. It references government policy changes announced as of March 2026, and includes figures illustrating trends in key data. It does not offer independent analysis or recommendations about the scheme's future direction.

Since the 2022 edition, the NZ ETS has seen significant design changes. The guide covers the rise and fall of renewed efforts to price agricultural emissions from livestock and fertilisers; steps to reduce overallocation of free New Zealand Units to emissions-intensive and trade-exposed industries; new standard and permanent classifications for post-1989 forests; restrictions on registering exotic post-1989 forests on productive agricultural land; the decoupling of unit supply and price control settings from New Zealand's Paris Agreement commitments; and signalled plans to introduce new sources of emissions removals.

The guide is written to be practical and accessible. NZ ETS market participants, stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers working on emissions pricing will find it a useful reference.

The guide was written by Catherine Leining, Policy Fellow at Motu Research, and funded by the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment.