ETS reform - auctioning and unit limits (2020)
Win +10What happened
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Act 2020: introduced ETS unit auctioning (from 2021), annual unit limits, cost containment reserve, phase-down of industrial free allocation, and pathway for agricultural emissions pricing.
Why it matters
Strengthened NZ's primary carbon pricing instrument - central to meeting domestic budgets.
Impact assessment
Introduced unit auctioning, annual supply limits, and price controls - a structural overhaul of NZ's primary carbon-pricing instrument for covered sectors. Agricultural pricing pathway was enabled but not delivered by term end.
Limitations: Ag pricing deferred; later partially reversed by successor government.
Attribution
shared (high confidence) -Labour, Greens
Labour-led ETS reform package; Shaw as Climate Minister.
Coalition period: Labour-led coalition (with NZ First) (26 October 2017 - 16 October 2020)