Climate Change (General Exemptions) Order 2009

Reprint
as at 1 January 2012

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

Climate Change (General Exemptions) Order 2009

(SR 2009/370)

Anand Satyanand, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 30th day of November 2009

Present:
His Excellency the Governor-General in Council

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.

This order is administered by the Ministry for the Environment.

Pursuant to section 60 of the Climate Change Response Act 2002, His Excellency the Governor-General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council and on the recommendation of the Minister for Climate Change Issues made after complying with the requirements of that section, makes the following order.

Order

1 Title

  • This order is the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Order 2009.

2 Commencement

  • This order comes into force on 31 December 2009.

3 Interpretation

  • In this order, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    bobby calf means a milk-fed calf from a dairy herd that is less than 14 days old

    company, in relation to a New Zealand person, has the same meaning as in section YA 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007

    in New Zealand temporarily, in relation to goods, means goods whose presence in New Zealand does not exceed a continuous period of 180 days

    layer hen means a bird that is kept to produce eggs for sale

    motor vehicle has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Land Transport Act 1998

    New Zealand person means—

    • (a) a New Zealand citizen; or

    • (b) a New Zealand resident within the meaning of section YD 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007; or

    • (c) a company that is resident in New Zealand within the meaning of section YD 2 of the Income Tax Act 2007

    passing through New Zealand, in relation to an aircraft or a ship, means an aircraft or a ship—

    • (a) on a journey from a foreign port to a foreign port; and

    • (b) whose presence in New Zealand does not exceed a continuous period of 180 days, whether or not the aircraft or ship is engaged in moving passengers or cargo between ports in New Zealand during that period

    synthetic fertilisers containing nitrogen means a nitrogen-containing substance or mix of substances, produced by chemical manufacture,—

    • (a) whose main function is to provide nutrients for plants; and

    • (b) which is described as, or held out to be for, or suitable for, sustaining or increasing the growth, productivity, or quality of plants or, indirectly, animals through its application to plants or soil.

    Clause 3: substituted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 4 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

Exemption for entire activity

4 Exemption for activity of importing coal

  • A person who is carrying out the activity of importing coal listed in Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person imports coal at a level that does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

5 Exemption for activity of using geothermal fluid

  • A person who carries out the activity of using geothermal fluid for the purpose of generating electricity or industrial heat listed in Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person uses geothermal fluid for the purpose of generating electricity or industrial heat at a level that does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

6 Exemption for activity of combusting used oil or waste oil

  • A person who carries out the activity of combusting used oil or waste oil for the purpose of generating electricity or industrial heat listed in Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person combusts used oil or waste oil at a level that does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

7 Exemption for activity of producing gold

  • A person who carries out the activity of producing gold listed in Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person produces gold at a level that does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

8 Exemption for activity of importing or manufacturing synthetic fertilisers containing nitrogen

  • A person who carries out the activity of importing or manufacturing synthetic fertilisers containing nitrogen listed in subpart 1 of Part 5 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person imports or manufactures synthetic fertilisers containing nitrogen at a level that does not exceed the annual threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

    Clause 8: inserted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 5 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

9 Exemption for activity of slaughtering ruminant animals, pigs, horses, or poultry

  • A person who is the operator of a risk management programme registered under the Animal Products Act 1999 and is not a retail butcher (as defined in section 4(1) of the Animal Products Act 1999) and who carries out the activity of slaughtering ruminant animals, pigs, horses, or poultry listed in subpart 3 of Part 5 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity except in relation to the slaughter of cattle (other than bobby calves), sheep, deer, goats, pigs, or poultry (other than layer hens).

    Clause 9: inserted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 5 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

10 Exemption for activity of dairy processing of milk or colostrum

  • A person who carries out the activity of dairy processing of milk or colostrum listed in subpart 3 of Part 5 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person is not required in relation to that dairy processing to have a risk management programme registered under the Animal Products Act 1999.

    Clause 10: inserted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 5 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

11 Exemption for activity of exporting live cattle, sheep, or pigs

  • A person who carries out the activity of exporting from New Zealand live cattle, sheep, or pigs in accordance with an animal welfare export certificate listed in subpart 3 of Part 5 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the person exports from New Zealand live cattle, sheep, or pigs at a level that does not exceed the annual threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

    Clause 11: inserted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 5 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

12 Exemption for activity of producing eggs

  • A person who is an operator of a risk management programme registered under the Animal Products Act 1999 and who carries out the activity of producing eggs listed in subpart 3 of Part 5 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the activity if the number of the person's layer hens subject to the risk management programme does not exceed the annual threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

    Clause 12: inserted, on 1 January 2011, by clause 5 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

Exemption for part of activity

13 Exemption for activity of mining coal in form of peat

  • A person who carries out the activity of mining coal where the volume of coal mined exceeds 2 000 tonnes in a year listed in Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act is exempt as a participant in respect of the part of the activity that concerns the mining of coal in the form of peat if the person mines coal in the form of peat at a level that does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order.

    Clause 13 clause number: substituted, on 1 January 2011, by regulation 6 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

14 Exemption for activity of importing sulphur hexafluoride

  • (1) A person who carries out the activity (listed in subpart 2 of Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Act) of importing sulphur hexafluoride, including sulphur hexafluoride contained in goods, is exempt as a participant in respect of the importation of sulphur hexafluoride in any goods that—

    • (a) are not unloaded in New Zealand and are destined for a port outside of New Zealand; or

    • (b) are in New Zealand temporarily.

    (2) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of subclause (1), goods includes bulk shipments of sulphur hexafluoride.

    Clause 14: added, on 1 January 2011, by clause 7 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

15 Exemptions for activity of importing hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons

  • (1) A person who carries out the activity (listed in subpart 2 of Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Act) of importing hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons, including hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in goods, is exempt as a participant in respect of the importation of hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons in—

    • (a) any aircraft or ship with any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any refrigeration system, air conditioning system, or other system if—

      • (i) the system is integrated with or into the aircraft or ship or relies on the aircraft or ship for its power; and

      • (ii) the aircraft or ship is—

        • (A) passing through New Zealand; or

        • (B) in New Zealand for the purpose of repairing the aircraft or ship; or

        • (C) part of the armed forces of a State other than New Zealand; or

        • (D) registered in New Zealand; or

        • (E) owned by a New Zealand person:

    • (b) any aircraft with any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any refrigeration system, air conditioning system, or other system that is integrated with or into the aircraft or that relies on the aircraft for its power, if the person's total tonnage of emissions from the importation of any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons in those systems (other than those referred to in paragraph (a)) does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order:

    • (c) any ship with any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any refrigeration system, air conditioning system, or other system that is integrated with or into the ship or that relies on the ship for its power, if the person's total tonnage of emissions from the importation of any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons in those systems (other than those referred to in paragraph (a)) does not exceed the threshold set out in the Schedule of this order:

    • (d) any other goods if the goods—

      • (i) are not unloaded in New Zealand and are destined for a port outside of New Zealand; or

      • (ii) are in New Zealand temporarily; or

      • (iii) are, if the person is an individual, for the individual's personal, domestic, or household use or consumption; or

      • (iv) contain any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons owing solely to the use of any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons to manufacture the goods (for example, insulation foam).

    (2) A person who carries out the activity (listed in subpart 2 of Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Act) of importing hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons, including hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in goods, is exempt as a participant in respect of the importation of hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons in relation to—

    • (a) the gas HFC-245fa/365mfc (including HFC-245fa/365mfc contained in goods) to the extent that the person imports that gas:

    • (b) motor vehicles with any hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any system integrated into or powered by those motor vehicles to the extent specified in subclause (3).

    (3) If subclause (2)(b) applies, a person—

    • (a) is exempt as a participant in respect of the first 100 tonnes of emissions from the motor vehicles in the year of importation, as calculated in accordance with regulations 44M and 44N of the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009; and

    • (b) is a participant in respect of any emissions that exceed the threshold specified in paragraph (a).

    (4) Despite anything in subclause (1), subclause (1)(a)(ii)(D) and (E) do not apply to an aircraft or a ship the first time it arrives in New Zealand.

    (5) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of subclause (1)(d)(i) and (ii), goods includes bulk shipments of hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons.

    Clause 15: added, on 1 January 2011, by clause 7 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

16 Exemption for activity of mining natural gas, other than for export

  • (1) A person who carries out the activity (listed in Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act) of mining natural gas, other than for export, is exempt as a participant (to the extent determined under subclause (2)) in respect of the mining of natural gas that is—

    • (a) sold to another person; and

    • (b) used to make natural gasoline.

    (2) If subclause (1) applies, the following formula must be used to calculate the amount of natural gas for which the person is exempt as a participant:

    G = (mcg/mc) × N

    where—

    G
    is the amount in tonnes of natural gas for which the person is exempt as a participant
    mcg
    is the mass fraction of carbon in the natural gasoline that is derived from the natural gas
    mc
    is the mass fraction of carbon in the natural gas (as recorded under regulation 16 of the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009
    N
    is the amount in tonnes of natural gasoline derived from the natural gas.

    Clause 16: inserted, on 1 January 2012, by clause 4 of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2011 (SR 2011/362).

Schedule
Exemption thresholds for certain activities

cls 4–8, 11–13, 15

  • Schedule heading: amended, on 1 January 2011, by clause 8(1) of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

ExemptionActivity Threshold
cl 4Importing coal 2 000 tonnes of coal per annum
cl 5Using geothermal fluid for the purpose of generating electricity or industrial heat 4 000 tonnes of emissions per annum, as calculated in accordance with the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009
cl 6Combusting used oil or waste oil for the purpose of generating electricity or industrial heat 1 500 tonnes of used or waste oil per annum
cl 7Producing gold 5 000 tonnes of emissions per annum, as calculated in accordance with the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009
cl 8Importing or manufacturing synthetic fertilisers containing nitrogen 1 tonne of synthetic fertilisers per annum
cl 11Exporting live cattle, sheep, or pigs in the case of cattle, 20 cattle per annum
   in the case of sheep, 20 sheep per annum
   in the case of pigs, 20 pigs per annum
cl 12Producing eggs 2 290 layer hens per annum in the years 2011, 2012, and 2013 and 860 layer hens per annum in the years after 2013, as calculated in accordance with regulation 13 of the Climate Change (Agriculture Sector) Regulations 2010
cl 13Mining coal in the form of peat 10 000 tonnes of peat per annum
cl 15(1)(b)Importing hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons 100 tonnes of emissions from hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any system integrated into or powered by aircraft during the year of importation, as calculated in accordance with regulations 44K and 44L of the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009
cl 15(1)(c)Importing hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons 100 tonnes of emissions from hydrofluorocarbons or perfluorocarbons contained in any system integrated into or powered by ships during the year of importation, as calculated in accordance with regulations 44K and 44L of the Climate Change (Stationary Energy and Industrial Processes) Regulations 2009

  • Schedule: amended, on 1 January 2011, by clause 8(2) of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

  • Schedule: amended, on 1 January 2011, by clause 8(3) of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Amendment Order 2010 (SR 2010/339).

Rebecca Kitteridge,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Issued under the authority of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989.

Date of notification in Gazette: 3 December 2009.

Contents

  • 1General

  • 2Status of reprints

  • 3How reprints are prepared

  • 4Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

  • 5List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)

Notes
1 General

  • This is a reprint of the Climate Change (General Exemptions) Order 2009. The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the order as at 1 January 2012, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.

    Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that contain transitional, savings, or application provisions that cannot be compiled in the reprint are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order. For more information, see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/reprints/ .

2 Status of reprints

  • Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.

    This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

3 How reprints are prepared

  • A number of editorial conventions are followed in the preparation of reprints. For example, the enacting words are not included in Acts, and provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted. For a detailed list of the editorial conventions, see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.

4 Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

  • Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.

    A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.

    In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint:

    • •omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section” and “of this Act”)

    • •typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)

    • •layout of provisions, including:

      • •indentation

      • •position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section)

    • •format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)

    • •format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999” is now expressed as “1 January 1999”)

    • •position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)

    • •punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions)

    • •Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly

    • •case and appearance of letters and words, including:

      • •format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)

      • •small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters

    • •schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly

    • •running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)

    • •format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg, they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).

5 List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)