ETS reveals how divorced from reality politicians are » The Gisborne Herald

Claiming carbon credits on forestry is a disaster, both individually and nationally. A short-term gain will likely end in long-term pain.

Farmers who claim and sell credits will be leaving their descendants a potential time bomb, and land that can never be sold. Nick Smith claims $666 per hectare per year is available to those who sell their credits; $666 by 25 equals $16,650 liability per hectare. Who would want to buy land that has a carbon credit liability like this, let alone one five to 20 times what the credits were sold for.

Also, who will be responsible for repaying those credits if land use changes? When does this responsibility end?

I predict this land will become worthless, with a liability in excess of its value. The only reason to sell credits now is if you are 100 percent positive the price is going to collapse and you can make money from others’ stupidity.

The Government has set the price at $25 a tonne, it is currently selling at $18 to $20 a tonne. In the US it is $0.10 a tonne.