TIME IS KEY FOR FUEL ALTERNATIVES Words by Antony Heywood : Vegetables New Zealand Inc. general manager
Steps of the GHG emissions plan from page 56 of the Phasing out fossil fuels in process heat consultation document
The Covid-19 lockdown of 2020 was a sharp reminder that access to food is essential. At no time did our growers stop harvesting. As essential workers, our industry continued to operate, ensuring that New Zealanders had access to fresh produce throughout. It is imperative that government policy recognises the essential nature of our food system and its importance in ensuring food security for millions of Kiwis. Growers and farmers are the key players in our regional food systems. They sustain our communities with more than just food. They provide employment, ancillary business support, diversity of business, entrepreneurial and economic sensibility and a multiplicity of perspectives and approaches, as well as ethnic inclusion.
72 NZGROWER : OCTOBER 2021
The consultation document Phasing out fossil fuels in process heat, informed by the imperative to transition to a low-emissions economy in order to address climate change, threatens growers’ ability to sustain that long-term food security unless a collective plan that enables ongoing food production can be agreed upon, and sufficient time allowed to transition to fuel alternatives. So here is my challenge: Government consulting on the document has an intent to work with businesses to achieve the right outcomes. Growers are already of a ‘green’ mentality and want to do the right thing for the environment. Let’s stop talking about the why and how and work collaboratively to concentrate on the when. The consultation document raises a number of solid discussion topics. In particular, support around the uptake of best practices and transitioning to low emissions through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions plans.
