Kiwis are being offered today, for the first time ever, the opportunity to bid for voluntary carbon credits in an exciting initiative. The project is designed to show how carbon credits work and how families and businesses can reduce their carbon footprint.
Renewable energy company Meridian Energy, in partnership with Trade Me, The Marketplace Company (M-co) and The carboNZero Programme run by Landcare Research, today posted for sale three parcels of Gold Standard Verified Emission Reduction Units (VERs), or voluntary carbon credits, on the Trade Me auction site.
The Trade Me listing comprises two parcels of units aimed at householders and a third parcel that would be aimed at a medium sized business.
The three parcels of carbon credits were posted this morning on the Trade Me site and the first auction will close at 9.30pm on Monday 10 September.
These voluntary carbon credits are the first ever to be sold in New Zealand via a public auction process. Meridian and its partners intend this as a test to:
- Get people talking about their carbon footprint, and start thinking about what they can do to reduce it.
- Determine the level of interest in small parcels of carbon credits.
- Create an open process to discover the price people are willing to pay for carbon credits.
Meridian Energy CEO Keith Turner welcomed the move, saying the initiative shows how New Zealand companies can work together to find new ways to serve their customers. “This is a fantastic opportunity for Meridian and our associates to find out what people want and need. This is the start of a journey for us all. We’re hoping to learn a lot from this week and share it widely.”
Working with M-co, who developed a carbon trading registry, means that the voluntary carbon credits bought by the winning bidders have value, with M-co managing ownership and resale.
The Gold Standard Meridian carbon credits can be used world-wide across the voluntary carbon market, and will remain in place until they are retired or cancelled.
”Trade Me has been a great partner to work with, even creating a new carbon category,” said Dr Turner, “We’re all very excited to be part of a New Zealand first.”
Each of the household parcels consists of 20 units – equivalent to 20 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide CO2. The business parcel contains 1,000 units – equivalent to 1,000 tonnes of CO2.
A useful site to calculate your emissions is Landcare Research’s carboNZero site www.carbonzero.co.nz. In establishing this auction, we have opted for 20 units as a useful parcel for the average Kiwi family.
“Your household may not use 20 units, which means a purchaser may have unused carbon credits to on sell,” said Dr Turner.
How do we use carbon credits?
The winning bidders can choose what they do with their carbon credits. They can:
- Use them to offset the emissions created by their household or business by retiring the credits. CarboNZero will recognise these carbon credits subject to their usual terms and conditions.
- On-sell them.
- Hold on to the units as an investment and sell them in the future.
Calculating your emissions – how do you do it?
Meridian Energy’s electricity is certified CarboNZero by Landcare
Research Limited. The carboNZero process has three steps:
- Measure: Calculate the emissions your household or business produces every year using the carbon calculators at http://www.carbonzero.co.nz/
- Manage: Do everything you can to reduce your emissions by being energy and resource efficient. For hints and tips look at our website and www.energywise.org.nz
- Mitigate: Offset your unavoidable emissions by buying and retiring appropriate carbon credits.
All enquiries should be directed through the Trade Me site and not through the Meridian Energy call centre.
At the same time as the Trade Me auction a Registration of Interest for the remaining Meridian voluntary carbon credits will also be launched. Individuals, firms and brokers who have previously expressed an interest in our Gold Standard VERs, will be contacted, along with some of our larger customers. The Registration of Interest closes on 23 September.