This report helps to understand what impact the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) has had on gross emissions. It presents updated marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) for New Zealand and the aggregated and anonymised results of interviews with key stakeholders within the NZ ETS.
This report helps to understand what impact the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) has had on gross emissions. It presents updated marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) for New Zealand and the aggregated and anonymised results of interviews with key stakeholders within the NZ ETS.
This report helps to understand what impact the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) has had on gross emissions. It presents updated marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) for New Zealand and the aggregated and anonymised results of interviews with key stakeholders within the NZ ETS.
MACCs are a way of modelling and visualising possible options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand, as well as the potential scale and estimated costs of each option. With the addition of the qualitative interviews, the analysis provides a picture that compares what abatement the NZ ETS theoretically could have driven (in the absence of other non-cost barriers) with actual outcomes.
The updated MACCS build on a previous set of MACCs published in 2020, and the report compares the estimated emissions abatement from the previous MACCs with the actual emissions abatement that was achieved since then. The previous MACC analysis can be found in the publication Marginal abatement cost curves analysis for New Zealand.
The report was developed by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) to support New Zealand’s climate change evidence base. In carrying out their analysis, NZIER updated the MACC model that was used in 2020 by making significant improvements to many of the data inputs and technical assumptions. These updates focused on gross emissions reductions in NZ ETS sectors, and did not update the land-based MACCs (e.g. agriculture, forestry).
Opening a conversation on improving the MACC data and model
The MACC model benefits from continuous improvement and being updated with the latest available data. In addition to making a key piece of climate change evidence for New Zealand publicly available, the release of this report creates an opportunity for key sectors, NZ ETS participants, and experts to engage with the government to improve the MACC model and data inputs for the future.
To support interpretation and of the report, the report is being released alongside a workbook that details data inputs and technical assumptions, which identifies a number of areas for improvement.
If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions in relation to this report or the MACC analysis, please contact ETSfeedback@mcert.govt.nz.
The full MACC model can also be made available to anyone interested in engaging with the technical detail of this analysis. Please contact ETSfeedback@mcert.govt.nz for a copy of the model.