Ten million New Zealand Units have been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry under the emissions trading scheme (ETS) since the first returns were processed in early 2009.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Maf) sustainable programmes director Clive Lilley said since the ETS started, 7.7 million New Zealand Units (NZU) had been issued to owners of forests planted post-1989 and since last August, applications for 3.6 million NZUs for those planted pre-1990.
Applications for a further 15 million NZUs had been received for owners of pre-1990 forests, but not all credits for these forests would be issued straight away, with Maf holding over two-thirds until 2013.
While the ETS has primarily targeted owners of forests planted post-1989, Mr Lilley said owners of pre-1990 planted forests had been allowed to claim credits under some conditions. The deadline for lodging applications was November 30.