Fletcher Building Ltd is entering negotiations with the New Zealand government regarding a Negotiated Greenhouse Agreement (NGA) for a wide range of its manufacturing facilities, including its cement plant at Portland, near Whangarei.
Pete Hodgson, convenor of the Ministerial Group on Climate Change said: “Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements are a key element of New Zealand’s climate change policy … These agreements will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while safeguarding the international competitiveness of New Zealand businesses.”
The NGA would be a binding agreement between Fletcher Building and the government in which the company would be committed to moving towards world’s best practice in managing greenhouse gas emissions. In return, the government would fully or partially exempt the company from the emissions charge, to come into force by 2008. The agreement is limited to companies whose international competitiveness is at risk due to the emissions charge. So far the government has only signed one NGA (with the NZ Refining Co) but several are under negotiation at the moment.
