The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is one of the longest-running ETS worldwide, in place since 2008. As part of a greater policy reform, auctioning has been introduced as the default method for allocating New Zealand Units (NZUs) to market participants from 2021 onwards.

    A joint bid by the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) and EEX was selected by the NZ Government to develop and operate the managed auction service. While NZX is hosting and operating all auction-related processes, EEX is contributing the bidding system and providing expert support.

    Auctions will be scheduled quarterly > see the Auction schedule at the right side. 

    Auctions will be open for participation to all New Zealand Emissions Trading Register account holders.

    You can access the auction platform at the following link > NZ ETS Auctions

    About the EEX-NZX cooperation:

    NZX and EEX announced a Co-operation Agreement in December 2019, with a focus on securing new opportunities in the New Zealand emissions market. Beyond the New Zealand carbon market, both NZX and EEX will be jointly exploring areas for co-operation in other regions and/or asset classes.

    Auction Schedule

    DATE VOLUME AVAILABLE*
    20 March            3.525 million NZU
    19 June               3.525  million NZU
    4 September 3.525 million NZU
    4 December 3.525 million NZU

    *The Government expects that 14.1 million NZUs will be auctioned in total in 2024, which will be spread evenly across the four scheduled auctions. If the auction clearing price is higher than $184, the cost containment reserve tier 1 will be triggered allowing another 2.8 million NZUs to be available to be auctioned. If the auction clearing price is higher than $230, the cost containment reserve tier 2 will be triggered allowing another 4.9 million NZUs to be available to be auctioned. This means a maximum volume of 21.8 million NZUs can be auctioned in 2024.

    “The successful bid to the Ministry for the Environment showcased the value of bringing together the deep experience and capabilities of NZX and EEX to implement and operate a solution tailored to meet the needs of New Zealand and NZ ETS participants – and aligned with the design of other emissions markets globally.”

    Mark Peterson, NZX Chief Executive

    For more than 150 years we have been creating opportunities for Kiwis to grow their personal wealth and helping businesses prosper. As New Zealand’s Exchange, we are proud of our record in supporting the growth and global ambitions of local companies. NZX operates New Zealand's equity, debt, funds, derivatives and energy markets. To support the growth of our markets, we provide trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services for our customers. We also own Smartshares, New Zealand's only issuer of listed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and KiwiSaver provider SuperLife. Our NZX Wealth Technologies subsidiary is an online asset management platform.

    Learn more about NZX at > www.nzx.com

    André Tzschoppe

    Contact for enquiries

    For any questions related to the NZ ETS Auctions, please get in touch with our Expert for Environmental Markets, Business Development.

    > Contact

    About the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme

    New Zealand has one of the longest established Emissions Trading Schemes in the world.

    > Find more information

    Auction webinars

    In case you have missed the NZX/EEX auction webinars, you can watch the sessions again by following the links below:

    *Please note, by activating the link, you will be forwarded to Youtube.