- Hon Simon Watts
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has released guidance and tools to help New Zealanders take part in voluntary nature and carbon markets with confidence.
"The Government wants to support the growth of voluntary markets that are trusted and able to deliver real benefits for nature, the climate and wider economy," Mr Watts says.
"Activities like restoring a wetland and planting natives are nature-based solutions that remove carbon from the atmosphere, protect our biodiversity and even reduce the impact of flooding.
"Businesses, corporates and philanthropists, here and overseas, want to invest in New Zealand's projects because they value our reliable geopolitical landscape and strong environmental reputation.
"Strong and credible voluntary markets can deliver real benefits for the climate, environment and economy. But investors must be able to trust they're buying high quality credits and can make transparent claims, so they're not accused of greenwashing."
The refreshed guidance will help participants understand what high-quality, projects should look like.
"Under the guidance, principles describe what qualities buyers should look for to be confident they are investing in projects that make solid environmental claims. Carbon activities must be additional, durable, real and measurable. They must also be transparent, not double-counted and respectful of rights," Mr Watts says.
The release of the guidance and tools supports the Government's approach to grow New Zealand's voluntary nature and carbon markets announced earlier this week.
"The same principles underpin the Government's endorsement of high-quality schemes and methodologies announced earlier in the week. This will make it easier for project suppliers - developers, farmers, landowners, iwi, conservationists and community groups - to build high integrity projects which will help them attract more funding," Mr Watts says.
Also announced today are online guidance and a tool to help organisations explore other carbon removal options. This follows the Assessment Framework for Carbon Removals released last year.
"This tool supports businesses to prepare to submit an application for scientific assessment. It will help people understand whether an activity is scientifically robust, cutting out uncertainty," Mr Watts says.
