Eric Crampton: With friends like these, does the Emissions Trading Scheme need enemies?

There is no chance it is deliberate. Deliberateness would require more coordination than government is able to manage these days.

But if the government wanted to undermine the Emissions Trading Scheme, would policy over the past year have looked much different?

The government has made too many decisions that weaken the Scheme, that encourage emitters to ignore the price signals it sends, or that throw the market into chaos.

Eric Crampton: Unrest in the forest and trouble with the trees

Federated Farmers and Beef & Lamb New Zealand have stepped-up their campaigns against carbon forestry.

Federated Farmers objected to a Dutch company’s purchase of two sheep and beef farms for tree-planting, arguing it would mean fewer jobs and people in rural towns.

Beef & Lamb New Zealand commissioned work pointing out that New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is friendlier than others to forestry, while suggesting that the difference is not to New Zealand’s benefit.

Clive Bibby: This has to stop

I have written about this before but up until now, nobody in authority seems to be listening or worse still, is hoping that it will just continue to happen and nobody will notice. 

In fact it appears that the “one way” transfer of our productive grazing land into the fast expanding exotic forestry estate is all part of the government’s plan to achieve its ill-advised zero carbon emissions target. More about that later. 

The upcoming sale of 6200 hectares of prime East Coast hill country (Huiarua and Matanui Stns) with a combined carrying capacity of over 45,000 stock units and the probability that it might all end up in trees is more than just a little bit worrying.