The Climate Change Commission Has Advised The Government To Adjust Emissions Trading Scheme Settings To Get Itself Back On Track To Meeting Emissions Reduction Targets

The Climate Change Commission has advised the Government to adjust Emissions Trading Scheme settings to get itself back on track to meeting emissions reduction targets. Last December The Government ignored the CCC’s advice to allow the ETS price to rise, or emitters would pass higher costs on to consumers. The Government chose to prioritise the “cost of living” over the ETS leaving traders to question the Government’s commitment to the process. The uncertainty saw the carbon price fall from $85 per unit to a low of around $53. Rod Carr Chair of the CCC is now recommending the Government makes up for that change with more drastic changes to ETS settings in the future. He says Aotearoa New Zealand risks failing to meet its climate goals or potentially facing higher emissions-related costs in the future. This stance seemed to give some traders confidence to return to the market and the carbon price rose from around $59 per unit on Wednesday to $62.50 on Thursday. But traders are now waiting to see if the Government will adopt the CCC’s advice before committing further.