KEY POINTS:
The Government's bill to enact climate change policy - including setting up emissions trading and restricting new fossil fuel produced power - has been introduced to Parliament.
Finance Minister Michael Cullen said The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill aimed to make New Zealand the world's first truly sustainable nation.
"The emissions trading scheme establishes a market which provides incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
"It will do so while maintaining economic flexibility, equity and environmental integrity at least cost in the long-term."
Different sectors would be phased in over five years and assistance to help industry and agriculture adjust would run until 2025.
The Government announced its plans in September. Climate Change Issues Minister David Parker said since then it had relaxed the penalty regime and set up a process to develop allocation plans.
The legislation allowed for a review of the trading schemes, "which must consider the allocation model in the context of the emissions pricing policies of major trading partners".
The Government is seeking to get more renewable energy generation and would restrict fossil-fuelled thermal generation for a decade but only if it did not impact on supply.
"We have already said that we expect State-owned generators to heed the Government's message that all new baseload electricity generation should be renewable. That expectation remains," Mr Parker said.
The Electricity Commission would decide on exemptions - for example in emergencies, for isolated communities or when thermal generation was mixed with renewables or based on waste products.
Any new thermal generation above 10 megawatts using more than 20 per cent of fossil fuels would be effected.
- NZPA
