Agricultural emissions removed from ETS
Major harm -2What happened
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme Agricultural Obligations) Amendment Act 2024 removed all agricultural activities from the NZ ETS. The coalition also committed to farm-level pricing via an alternative mechanism no earlier than 2030 - a decade-long delay beyond the prior He Waka Eke Noa 2025 pathway.
Why it matters
Removes the ETS backstop and postpones any price signal on NZ's largest emissions source.
Impact assessment
Major sector left outside primary carbon pricing, with ETS obligations repealed and alternative farm-level pricing delayed to 2030 at earliest.
Scale: ~50% gross emissions sector
Attribution
shared (high confidence) -National, ACT, NZ First
Core 2023 coalition commitment; ETS amendment package November 2024.
Coalition period: National-led coalition (with ACT & NZ First) (27 November 2023 - present)