KEY POINTS:
Air travellers have had a trial run of paying for carbon emissions - if they've chosen to do so.
An Auckland-to-Wellington flight, for example, costs $2.30 and voluntary offset schemes are now a prominent part of airlines' environmental initiatives. Green-conscious corporates and government departments demand them.
Airlines operating in New Zealand have helped offset their emissions by buying credits, from wind farms in Manawatu to a methane project near Palmerston North.
Unlike probable charges in Europe, international flights to and from NZ will be exempt, but all domestic travel will be included in the scheme.
Air New Zealand is likely to opt to run its own system as opposed to paying via the fuel suppliers. Emissions from its domestic flights total approximately 500,000 tonnes of carbon, the financial burden of which will be shared among the eight million-plus passengers carried every year.
Rising fuel prices and looming emissions charges have focused airlines' attention on fuel efficiency.
Air NZ has cut carbon emissions by 91,000 tonnes since 2004.
