Election 2026: What Could the Election Mean for Native Forest in the ETS?

New Zealand’s parties are offering different futures for the Emissions Trading Scheme. For farmers considering registering regenerating native forest, those differences matter.

What Is National Proposing for the ETS?

National emphasises ETS stability while restricting large-scale conversions of productive farmland into exotic forestry. The restrictions do not generally target eligible native regeneration on marginal farmland.

What Would Labour Change?

Labour says the ETS is “broken” and would urgently review it, reconsider forestry’s role and prevent whole-farm conversions.

Most importantly, Labour proposes pausing all new forestry registrations during the review. The PCE report cited by Labour ultimately favours native forest on marginal and erosion-prone land, but Labour has not announced an exemption for native regeneration during the proposed pause.

What Would the Greens Do with Forestry in the ETS?

The Greens would go further, removing forestry offsetting from the ETS and phasing out free industrial allocations. This creates uncertainty for native forestry registrations.

What Does ACT’s Policy Mean for Carbon Prices?

ACT would retain a carbon market but remove the auction floor price, return auction revenue to households and discourage productive farms becoming permanent carbon forests.

Lower prices could reduce forestry returns.

Where Does New Zealand First Stand?

New Zealand First supports controls on whole-farm conversion and protecting productive farmland, while advocating withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Its future ETS settings remain less clear.

What Is The Opportunity Party Proposing?

The Opportunity Party would strengthen the ETS, exclude new exotic forestry and support biodiversity-rich sequestration, including native forest, wetlands and soils.

What About Te Pāti Māori?

Te Pāti Māori supports indigenous restoration and climate action but has not published similarly detailed ETS design proposals.

So What Does This Mean if I Have Regenerating Native Forest?

The message for farmers is straightforward: registering regenerating native into the ETS has broad cross-party support. However, the rules after the election could be very different.

If you have eligible regenerating native forest, now is the time to assess it and begin the registration process.

Starting early cannot guarantee protection under future transitional rules, but delaying could mean losing the opportunity to register if a moratorium is introduced.

How Can Carbonfields Help?

Carbonfields can assess your forest’s eligibility and guide the application process.

Policy sources: Labour, National’s current settings, Greens, ACT, New Zealand First, and The Opportunity Party.