Report tables green options
Pulling agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) shouldn’t be the only way farming is steered against climate change, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
Dr Jan Wright yesterday released a wide-ranging report investigating the two major agricultural greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, which form about half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Wright acknowledged ongoing debate about the agricultural sector’s controversial omission from the ETS, saying the country’s main mechanism for climate mitigation had been “polarised for too long”.
Those arguing for biological emissions from ruminant livestock to be included in the ETS have pointed to fairness to other industries and consumers, and the distortion of the economy if it is excluded.
The Government remained against the move until it could be proven there were “economically viable and practical technologies available to reduce emissions” and NZ’s trading partners made more progress on tackling their own emissions.
But Wright could see ways for a partial inclusion of biological gases into ETS relatively quickly. Nitrogen fertiliser could be brought in, as could farms above a certain threshold.
Yet the ETS wasn’t the only way forward. She saw “immediate opportunities” for reducing emissions in new native and plantation forests.
“It might not be the whole solution, but a million hectares of trees would make a big difference — not to mention the added benefits for erosion and water quality.”
The Government also invested about $20 million each year in research to reduce biological methane, and Wright said a vaccine would be so valuable that this work should be ramped up as much as possible.
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett said the report aligned with the Government’s view that there was “no silver bullet” to fix the issue.
“Agricultural emissions make up 49 per cent of New Zealand’s gross emissions. Reducing them while growing our economy is a difficult challenge, but one we must solve.”
But the Greens argued the Government needed to be “straight up” with farmers and make it clear businessas-usual farming couldn’t continue in the face of climate change.
“The Government should instead be leading the way to rethink how we farm, where we farm and what we farm to try to reduce our emissions,” party leader James Shaw said.
Federated Farmers remained against agricultural emissions being drawn into the ETS, arguing it would put local producers at a severe disadvantage on global markets. It said it would consider something else that made more sense for farming.