Farmers urged to make drastic emissions changes
Farmers need to make drastic changes if New Zealand is going to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
They’ve been urged to allow at least one million hectares of native forest to regenerate and embrace radical new technology that would change the way they operate.
Commissioner Dr Jan Wright released a report on Wednesday into agriculture’s link to climate change.
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world, half of which comes from agriculture. Its emissions were unlike any other country in the world, due to high levels of methane and nitrous oxide.
Reducing those emissions needed to start with farmers, who had to take responsibility for their role before taxpayers felt the impact.
‘‘In a way, my report is a reality check,’’ Wright said. ‘‘There are no silver bullets here, but we need to do what we can to curb these emissions – and we need to start now.’’
She said at least one million hectares of marginal farm land could be set aside for native forests to regenerate. It was only one part of the solution, but it could begin straight away, she said.
About 42 hectares of regenerated forest would offset the emissions of 100 dairy cows. There are more than one million cows in Canterbury and the West Coast.
Ramping up research into new technology should also happen, such as vaccinations for animals to slow their methane production and selectively breeding animals that produce less gas.
Regulation requiring farms to report their biological gas outputs was also an option, she said.
‘‘If we ignore the biological gases from agriculture, other sectors of the economy – and the taxpayer – will become increasingly squeezed.
‘‘Our farmers have shown time and again their ability to adapt to new challenges. The world will continue to need food.
‘‘But in the long term the way in which food is grown, and the types of food grown, will have to change if biological emissions are to be reduced.’’
Federated Farmers welcomed the report and agreed that reducing agricultural emissions was a daunting but necessary task.
‘‘To achieve the massive change required to reduce agricultural emissions we are going to have to work together as a nation, and we are going to have to look for solutions based on new technologies, smart science and good research,’’ said national vicepresident Anders Crofoot.