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New Zealand Launches Assurance Framework For Nature and Carbon Markets
New Zealand has released a new assurance framework to support the development of domestic nature and carbon markets, aimed at increasing confidence among buyers, landowners, and project developers.
Environmental teams planting native trees and monitoring restored wetlands in New Zealand to support new carbon and nature market initiatives. AI generated picture.
The framework provides two pathways. The first recognises schemes accredited by reputable international bodies. The second is an opt-in endorsement pathway for domestic schemes, assessed against six integrity principles: additionality, durability, real and measurable outcomes, transparency, respect for rights, and no double-counting.
Two international bodies take effect immediately under the framework: the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets and the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). The domestic opt-in pathway is expected to open in the coming months.
The government said the framework addresses a gap between environmental funding needs and available public resources, with private investment seen as essential to bridging it. Potential project areas include wetland restoration, native planting, habitat protection, and carbon removal.
The framework also opens public conservation land to privately funded projects that deliver benefits beyond existing Crown commitments. Department of Conservation concession requirements remain in place. Applications to use this land are due to open later this year.
The government noted that endorsement under the framework serves as a quality signal rather than a Crown guarantee, and that buyers must still conduct their own due diligence.
The announcement follows ten pilot schemes run between June 2025 and March 2026, involving participants ranging from conservation organisations to large landholders. These included Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, state-owned farming enterprise Pāmu, and native reforestation non-profit Trees That Count.
