To be eligible to receive industrial allocation, an activity must meet two tests provided in the Climate Change Response Act 2002 [New Zealand Legislation website].
The tests are:
- An emissions intensity test, showing that the activity produces a large amount of emissions in relation to the revenue it generates.
- A trade exposure test, which considers whether there is international trade of the activity’s output and if importing/exporting the output is viable.
There are currently 26 eligible activities. See the full list eligibility list here [Environmental Protection Authority website].
There are two allocation tiers which depend on the emissions intensity of the activity:
- Highly emissions intensive activities (emissions intensity greater than 1,600 tCO2-e / NZ$ 1 million of revenue) receive industrial allocation that covers 90% of the emissions for the activity.
- Moderately emissions intensive activities (emissions are greater than 800 tCO2-e / NZ$ 1 million of revenue) receive industrial allocation that covers 60% of the emissions for the activity.
Eligibility for all firms carrying out a currently eligible activity is based on historical emissions across the sector, generally using emission levels from the 2006-2008 period. As described above, a new process has been developed for determining the eligibility of any new activity.
Individual firms must apply to receive industrial allocation
Individual firms must apply to receive industrial allocation. The exact number of NZUs provided each year is adjusted for production. This means when firms increase or decrease their output, the amount of assistance that they receive correspondingly rises or falls. This allows for the allocations to be based on actual, current production.
If you would like information on how to apply for an industrial allocation, see Industrial allocations [Environmental Protection Authority website].