Beef + Lamb New Zealand says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report on the current design of New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme supports many of B+LNZ’s positions and will encourage important discussions.
The report, Adrift: What future does the Emissions Trading Scheme have? says the current design of the ETS, particularly the treatment of forestry, is not sustainable over the long term and requires significant reform.
It shows the ETS is increasingly vulnerable to a forestry-driven oversupply of units, which risks undermining emissions reduction incentives and making maintenance of net zero emissions beyond 2050 increasingly difficult.
Chair Kate Acland says B+LNZ has been calling for changes to the ETS since 2019.
“We have continually raised concerns about the unintended consequences of the current ETS settings, particularly the amount of productive sheep and beef farmland being converted into carbon forests.
“Independent research we’ve commissioned shows the total extent of whole sheep and beef farms sold for afforestation since the beginning of 2017 is now 330,000 hectares. The PCE’s report shows the trees planted on that land will break the ETS from the 2030s, when there will be an oversupply of sequestration.
“We therefore welcome this report’s contribution to the discussion. We have long been in broad agreement with the PCE that we need to take a broader view of climate policy instead of trying to plant our way out of the problem and that further restrictions on forestry in the ETS are needed. Our analysis shows that even with the restrictions introduced last year a significant amount of land is still likely to be converted for this purpose, and the PCE’s analysis backs this up.
“We agree fundamental change is needed.
“We’ve continually said we’re not anti-forestry and we particularly support the integration of trees within farms, incentives for native planting and a diversity of planting with a variety of co-benefits.”
Acland says there are aspects of the PCE report that B+LNZ strongly disagrees with, such as a potential ETS for methane.
“Based on B+LNZ’s analysis of what other countries are doing around agricultural emissions we know that no country is seeking to include agricultural emissions in their ETS and most countries are looking to reward their farmers for reducing their emissions, rather than pricing. The only country that is charging farmers for their agricultural emissions includes significant subsidies that more than cover this price.
“B+LNZ is willing and able to contribute to the conversations about how New Zealand can achieve its climate goals while maintaining productive landscapes and vibrant rural communities. Any action taken can’t put New Zealand’s world-leading efficient food producing status at risk. It will take cross-party commitment to get this right.”
ENDS
Note to editors: Further information on the B+LNZ analysis of other countries’ approaches to agricultural emissions is on its website here.
Media Contact:
Will Jeffares: [email protected] | +64 (0) 27 235 9806