Averaging vs Stock Change Accounting

The ETS counts forest carbon in one of two ways. Stock change pays for growth and takes units back when carbon is lost, for example at harvest. Averaging pays up to the forest's long-term average and takes nothing back if the forest is replanted.

This guide compares the two with a worked example, explains which method applies to which forest, what the averaging age means for different species, and the trap for second-rotation or older forests that earn little under averaging.

^{Photo: “005 New Zealand forestry industry - timber stored in large logging operation in Marlborough, New Zealand” by Marek Slusarczyk, licensed for reuse under CC BY 3.0}