The Māori Forestry Association is taking the government to the High Court over its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
It's hoping legal action will provide more certainty for iwi forestry owners, who have $7 billion in future earnings at stake.
Iwi also own a third of the country's plantation forests and make up about 40 percent of the forestry workforce.
Last year the government proposed removing pine forests from the ETS to encourage native forest planting. That’s when the association first threatened legal action as well as a Waitangi Tribunal claim, resulting in a backdown by the government.
Now the Climate Change Commission report has given the government draft advice to remove the benefits of planting trees from the ETS altogether.
The commission says forestry is risky - fire could lead to the release of carbon back into the atmosphere - and could also slow efforts to reduce emissions. It’s pushing new native forests again, which it says will create an enduring carbon sink.
Penetaui Kleskovic, the operations manager at Te Aupouri Commercial Development, says the government has turned away from working with iwi forestry owners and is looking for ‘friendly’ Māori to support its emissions policy. But Kleskovic wants iwi to stand their ground.
“If they don’t like what we say, then let’s leave it up to the court to decide.”
Kleskovic believes the case will be heard by the High Court before the general election in October.