11 Aug 2010

NZ 'could benefit' from new climate change approach

7:48 am on 11 August 2010

An international climate change lawyer says New Zealand stands to benefit from the new approach to tackling climate change.

Anthony Hobley, who heads the carbon change and carbon finance practice at international legal firm Norton Rose, is speaking at the sixth annual Australia New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference in Sydney this week.

Mr Hobley says the concept of a single global carbon market has been severely damaged since last year's Copenhagen summit failed to reach a conclusive deal and countries and companies are now going it alone.

But he says New Zealand, having implemented an Emissions Trading Scheme, will have more kudos in the Asia-Pacific region and will have experience which it can relate to major trading partners, such as China, when they design their schemes.