Comment on United Future Forestry Policy Statement

MEDIA STATEMENT

Wednesday 18 April 2007

For Immediate Release

Comment on United Future Forestry Policy Statement

The Kyoto Forestry Association (KFA) is pleased a party supporting the Labour-led Government on confidence and supply is prepared to keep an open mind on the issue of ownership of post-1990 carbon credits.

KFA spokesman Roger Dickie said that through the 1990s and early part of this decade forestry investors were assured by government officials that they would own the credits they earned by planting post-1990 forests. Foreign governments were also told that this was New Zealand’s position by former Foreign Minister Phil Goff and his predecessor. The reversal of this policy has caused a collapse of confidence in the industry leading to New Zealand’s total forestry estate falling for the first time in living memory, worsening New Zealand’s Kyoto deficit.

“We look forward to dialogue with the United Future Party as it continues to develop its policy,” Mr Dickie said. “Tens of thousands of New Zealand families invested in forestry in the 1990s partly on the promise of carbon credits. It is common sense that to restore their confidence in the industry, get them planting again and reverse New Zealand’s worsening Kyoto deficit, the Government needs to recognise their interest in the credits they earned.”

The Green Party, the Maori Party, National and ACT have all agreed that post-1990 forestry investors’ interests in the carbon credits must be recognised, a view supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its recent report on New Zealand’s environment.

ENDS

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