Agricultural Emissions
Climate change is real. Farmers have a part to play in addressing global warming, and they see the impacts of a changing climate on a regular basis.
Agricultural pricing
New Zealand is the first country to look to put a price on agricultural emissions. It is critical we take a cautious approach as this has never been tried before.
The Government’s own modelling shows 20% of sheep and beef farmers could leave the sector as a result of a price on agricultural emissions and afforestation.
We need to approach this carefully and ensure that no one agricultural sector is disproportionately affected.
If farmers are to face a price on their emissions, it is also imperative they get proper recognition for the trees on their farms that are sucking up carbon in the atmosphere. Currently most vegetation on farms cannot be recognised.
Methane targets
We want to play our part in addressing climate change, but there is a need to review the methane targets.
It is vital we get the targets right if we are going to price emissions.
The Paris Agreement aims to prevent the world from increasing global temperatures by more than 1.5 degrees above industrial levels. This is a warming goal.
In the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Act, carbon dioxide’s target is to get to net zero in 2050. From a climate perspective, this is asking carbon dioxide to not add any new warming from 2050.
The IPCC recognises that methane only needs to reduce by around 0.3 percent a year to not add additional warming.
If methane had a similar target from a climate perspective to carbon dioxide, the target could therefore be around a 10 percent reduction by 2050.
The current methane targets in the Act are a 10 percent reduction in methane by 2030 and between 24-47 percent by 2050.
The sheep and beef sector has already reduced its absolute emissions by 30 percent since 1990, and total methane levels in New Zealand have been stable for the last decade.
We would like a review of the targets based on a warming approach, to make it clear what is being asked of each part of the economy, and to ensure it’s fair.
The Government also needs to start to report on warming annually, as well as emissions, so Kiwis can understand the difference between the warming impact of short-lived gases compared to long-lived gases.
