This study creates a 2010 baseline of business responses to the introduction of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) and the reasons for those responses.
It is too soon to judge the effectiveness of the NZ ETS. Indeed at the time of this study many firms were still coming to terms with the scheme. What has been observed, however, are early signs that the price incentive is starting to have an effect. Potential issues that may in the future require policy intervention are also identified.