Mighty River Power will buy carbon credits from a farmland-to-forest conversion near Lake Taupo.Maori interest Puketapu 3A Incorporation farms about 2,400 hectares of pastoral land in the upper Kuratau sub-catchment.In February last year, the Lake Taupo P
Mighty River Power will buy carbon credits from a farmland-to-forest conversion near Lake Taupo.
Maori interest Puketapu 3A Incorporation farms about 2,400 hectares of pastoral land in the upper Kuratau sub-catchment.
In February last year, the Lake Taupo Protection Trust announced the conversion of over 930 ha of farmland into forestry, under an agreement with Puketapu 3A, to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the lake.
The trust bought two farms around the lake in 2008, aiming to reduce the manageable nitrogen entering the lake by 153 tonnes by 2020.
In an announcement today, state-owned power company Mighty River Power said it would purchase carbon credits under a long-term carbon supply agreement, that Puketapu will earn under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Lake Taupo Protection Trust chairman John Kneebone said it was a first for New Zealand and would help preserve the pristine water quality of New Zealand’s largest lake.
“Lake Taupo is one of New Zealand’s national treasures. Although it is still very clean by international standards, it needs to be protected for the long term. These agreements represent a commitment by all parties involved to protecting Lake Taupo’s water quality.”
Mighty River Power’s general manager of generation Fraser Whineray said that as the operator of the Waikato Hydro System, the company was firmly committed to protecting the water quality of Lake Taupo – the major source of water for the Waikato River – for future generations.
“In addition to the far-reaching environmental benefits for Lake Taupo and the broader Waikato Catchment, it helps to address New Zealand’s carbon emission obligations with an innovative and totally domestic solution – that’s an ideal outcome as far as we’re concerned.”
