Greenhouse gases conference

talked to consumers because it has had amazing success.

Referring to the use of the nutrient model Overseer, which calculates the amount of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide generated on farm and the amount of carbon sequestered in trees, O’Connor said it is not perfect but it is the best available model.

For example, lucerne and plantain are not accounted for in the model. The alternative to using Overseer is an inputbased system but an output-based model is preferable.

O’Connor said more research needs to be done on regenerative farming, with products based on the system attracting big premiums, especially in the United States.

“In a general sense our pastoral systems are close to what they would call regenerative in the US.

“We have to establish what is regenerative … and if it can help connect to the values of our consumers and we can deliver on that in a credible way then I think there is potential for us to supply the most discerning customers.”

A possible mitigation measure is the feeding of the native red seaweed

During a low emissions future webinar Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the Government is committed to helping the primary sector.

asparagopsis armata to livestock. In trials overseas the seaweed has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in cows and sheep by up to 80%.

O’Connor said it would be incredible if the reduction was even just half of that.

Ministry for Primary Industries climate change systems policy manager Jennie Marks said while 63% of farmers believe humans contribute to climate change there is low awareness of farm emissions and measures to combat the problem.

Only about 14% of farmers have calculated their emissions, half of them with a rough estimate and no use of emission tools. Of the 14%, only 2% of farmers know the value of their non-farm emissions.

Last year the Government joined forces with the primary sector and iwi in its He Waka Eke Noa initiative to equip farmers and growers with the knowledge and tools they need to reduce emissions.

Among the goals is that by 2022 all farmers will know their farm emissions. By the beginning of next year they will be given guidance on how to measure and manage emissions through farm planning. At least a quarter of all farms will have a written plan by 2022 and all farms by 2025.

Between 2017-18 and 2020-21 the Government will have invested $107m in research into climate change mitigation. Another $122m has been set aside to provide tools and advice and improve farm emissions data. n

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We would not have picked up health problems that early without the help of the collars

Owen and Cathy Copinga Southland Dairy Farm

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Livestock are big emitters of the greenhouse gas methane but some industry organisations says the reduction targets are too high.

Gas target might move

The targets for reducing methane have been set but the message from the Government is they could be changed next year. Gerard Hutching reports.

CLIMATE Change Minister James Shaw has conceded the 24-47% range for reducing methane by 2050 is unsatisfactory and has hinted it might change.

Primary sector groups such as the Meat Industry Association have argued the target, which will affect dairy farmers particularly, has been set too high and the reduction required is only 7%.

Speaking to a webinar on a low-emissions future entitled Staying the Course, Shaw said the target will be looked at next year by the Climate Change Commission chaired by Rod Carr.

“The range is unsatisfactory if you’re trying to plan your business because the kind of things you would do if you were trying to hit a 24% reduction are quite different to if you are trying to hit a 47% reduction,” Shaw said.

Meanwhile, the Government has set an earlier target of a 10% reduction in methane by 2030.

Shaw said he is confident that is eminently doable, it simply demands a 1% cut every year from 2020.

“The longer we leave it the harder it gets.

“If, for example, we don’t make any reductions between now and 2025 it means you have to do 2% a year until 2030.

“We’ve known about this for 30 years but our emissions have gone up rather than down during that period.”

Shaw spoke of the importance of the Emissions Trading Reform Bill being enacted.

“In the 12 years we’ve had the Emissions Trading Scheme it

Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the 24-47% range for reducing methane by 2050 is unsatisfactory and will be looked at next year.

has not fulfilled its primary purpose to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gases.”

The most significant feature of the legislation is that it puts a cap on emissions, which up until now have been unlimited. Regarding agriculture, it brings nitrous oxide into the ETS but not methane.

Instead, primary sector leaders last year persuaded the

Government to agree to an alternative mechanism to the ETS, an on-farm way of measuring and pricing agricultural emissions.

“We took the sector at its word and have developed this programme, recognising the ETS really works better with large industrial emitters of carbon dioxide.

“It’s a bit clunky if you apply it to the agricultural sector.”

Shaw is optimistic ways of measuring farm emissions will be worked out by 2025, the same time farm plans would be completed. That is partly because at least a decade’s worth of work has been done on developing farm measurement tools.

Fonterra, Synlait and Horticulture NZ have farm or orchard plans they have already started to roll out while a lot of research and development has gone into Overseer during its tortured life.

Still to be decided are what instruments will be used to measure emissions, whether to pick a winner or to set up a system using a variety of tools but relying on some standards for robustness.

Carr said agriculture is important to the economy, culture, community and how Kiwis perceive themselves and their place in the world.

“The sector has shown over many years it has been able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output as a result of research into pasture management and how we breed our herds.

“Incremental change in efficiency will continue.

“The challenge for the Climate Commission is to understand where we are, the pathway we’re on and the gap between what can be expected and required and what might be achievable,” Carr said.

The commission is there to highlight any inconvenient truths and advise the Government whether the methane target is consistent with NZ’s international obligations.

Meanwhile, Shaw said the Zero Carbon Amendment Act, which came into force last year, is the first time a government worldwide has legislated to keep temperatures at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. n

Law hinders efforts

The Emissions Trading Scheme reform became law in June but industry organisations still have some serious concerns and say the Government did not listen to them. Samantha Tennent reports.

THE hunger for carbon credits created by the Climate Change Response Act might speed up the conversion of productive farmland to pine plantations.

The emissions trading reform lifts the cap on the carbon price.

Beef + Lamb analysis indicates carbon farming will become more profitable in some places because of distortions created by the carbon price.

About 70,000 hectares of productive sheep and beef land has been converted to forestry since 2019 and carbon-related investment has been a major driver.

“Large-scale exotic afforestation will not address climate change issues,” B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison says.

“Allowing fossil fuel emitters unlimited ability to offset their pollution by planting trees or planting pollution on farms allows the fossil fuel industry a get-out-ofjail-free card while the pastoral industry is asked to pick up the tab for other industries’ pollution.

“The Government will have the power to effectively dictate the terms of sale of logs, including placing restrictions on the export of logs. Beef + Lamb is concerned about the precedent set by this from a systemic perspective. If market controls and export restrictions are placed on one sector it is paving the way for the same controls to be placed on other sectors in the future.”

Morrison said B+LNZ has been asking for a clear mechanism in law that allows the Government to put a limit on the use of forestry offsets but the Government has repeatedly ignored the request.

“Put simply, the politicians didn’t listen and this legislation will not achieve the outcome New Zealand is after,” he said.

“Converting productive farmland to pine plantations for carbon credits is only a short-term solution to make progress on climate change targets but one that will lead to severe, long-term, negative impacts at a community and national level.

“Planting a tree does not make carbon emissions go away. Exotic pines absorb carbon for around 17 years. If carbon emissions don’t change the same amount needs to be planted to offset for the next 17 years. This increases exponentially and sucks towns, schools and communities into a green hole.”

Federated Farmers is also disappointed to see the reform was passed without fixing some of the serious concerns raised during consultation.

“The economic repercussions of covid-19 are squeezing businesses and households up and down the country. The last thing we need is more cost pressure for consumers and for farmers on prices for electricity, petrol, diesel and the like,” Federated Farmers climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard says.

“There has been no analysis undertaken since the pandemic on how sweeping changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will impact our economy, our international competitiveness and, therefore, the standard of living enjoyed by all New Zealanders.”

There are concerns over the long-term impact. If pine forests are grown solely for carbon credits there will be missed job opportunities maintaining and milling trees.

“We lose farm production from that land and thus export dollars. We lose real jobs, the districts’ schools, contracting businesses and community networks are gutted.”

Hoggard said Federated Farmers is pleased the Government agreed to take up the Primary Sector Climate Change Commitment, He Waka Eke Noa, which encompasses sector-driven initiatives to account for and drive down farm emissions.

But, despite pleas, the reform legislation fails to deal with something as basic as aligning the agreed He Waka Eke Noa milestones with farming’s production year – the basis for farmers’ software systems – rather than the calendar year. It also shows bad faith by persisting with the inclusion of agriculture in the ETS as a fall-back option.

“Federated Farmers will continue engaging in the He Waka Eke Noa partnership and will advocate for the development of a fit-for-purpose pricing mechanism that lowers global greenhouse gas emissions while not reducing food production.

“Unfortunately, this ETS reform legislation hinders rather than helps that mission.” n