CO2 Group expands into New Zealand

Australian environmental services company CO2 Group Limited will expand into New Zealand in June this year, the company’s first overseas venture.

The expansion of CO2 Group services outside Australia allows it to extend its commercial footprint into international carbon markets: the first Australian dedicated carbon forest sink planting firm to do so.

This initiative follows the passing of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) and New Zealand parliamentary confirmation of the emissions compliance market commencing 1 July 2010.

A key feature of the NZ ETS is the ability to generate and sell carbon credits into the international carbon market, which in 2009 had a market value of US$143 billion.

CO2 Group has formed a partnership with Maori commercial development company Tukia Group and New Zealand-based investment and advisory firm Carbon & Energy Partners (CEP).

The partnership will trade in New Zealand under the name CO2 New Zealand.

Tukia Group is committed to providing CO2 New Zealand with approximately 5 million New Zealand Emissions Units (NZUs) by the end of 2010 and access to undeveloped land to support the commercial needs of CO2 New Zealand.

Tukia Group is land manager of 176,000 hectares of existing forest lands in the Central North Island Region.

CO2 New Zealand will trade the NZUs and develop new sustainable carbon forests on behalf of third-party investors.

Tukia Group’s Chairman, Lennie Johns, said: "The passing of the NZ ETS means that CO2 New Zealand will now be able to generate carbon credits in the form of NZUs and Assigned Amount Units (AAUs). These can be sold in both the NZ and international carbon markets. We will invite investment from our partners and capital markets into carbon projects here in NZ. These projects will be developed on behalf of investors who require significant volumes of carbon credits in order to meet their compliance obligations.

“In addition to helping our climate by removing carbon from the atmosphere, these projects will bring many benefits to our landscapes. Some of our land lies bare and idle, while other portions are at risk of erosion. Reforestation can help restore an environmental balance to these lands while also delivering an economic return.”

CEO, CO2 Group, Andrew Grant, said: “This is an important step for CO2 Group; it comes at the end of a long review process by our company of suitable growth opportunities. Our expansion into New Zealand is well considered and is based on a number of very solid commercial attractions this side of the Tasman.”