National Policy Statement for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Process Heat

The Government has published the new National Policy Statement for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Process Heat 2023 (NPS) to come into force on 27 July 2023.

The NPS provides the national objective and supporting policy framework to implement and guide decision-making under the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Process Heat) Regulations 2023 (NES). It will apply to emissions from fossil fuel-fired heat devices (devices such as boilers, furnaces, engines, or other combustion devices that produce industrial process heat from coal, coke, diesel, liquid petroleum gas, natural gas, oil, peat, plastics, used oil etc.) excluding “back-up heat devices” and “heat devices on low-emissions sites”.

The objective of the NPS is to:

• reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by managing the discharges to air of greenhouse gases from the production of industrial process heat, in order to mitigate climate change and its current and future adverse effects on the environment and the wellbeing of people and communities.

The NES and NPS seek to achieve this objective by:

• Prohibiting discharges of greenhouse gases from new heat devices that burn coal below 300oC. Prohibited means the activity must not be carried out.
• Phasing out (prohibiting) existing heat devices that burn coal below 300oC by 2037 and making it a restricted discretionary activity to discharge greenhouse gas from an existing heat device if the device burns coal at below 300oC in the interim. Restricted discretionary means resource consent is required and the relevant consent authority can exercise discretion as to whether or not to grant consent, and to impose conditions, but only in respect of those matters over which its discretion is restricted in the NES.
• Making it a restricted discretionary activity to discharge greenhouse gas from a heat device if the device burns coal and delivers heat at or above 300°C.
• Making it a restricted discretionary activity to discharge any greenhouse gas from a heat device that burns any fossil fuel other than coal.
• Requiring applicants/consent holders to demonstrate consideration of technically feasible and financially viable lower-emissions alternatives, adopt the best practicable option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare an emissions plan as part of a consent application.
• Requiring decision-makers to recognise and consider the cumulative effects of industrial greenhouse gas emissions when assessing resource consent applications.
• Providing nationally consistent resource consent conditions, including monitoring and reporting requirements.

Want to know more?

The Government has published a Factsheet to inform industry operators of the NES and NPS.

If you have any questions about the NES and NPS please contact our specialist Environment Planning and Natural Resources Team.

PDF version: here.