The Farmingshow Straggle Muster

On The Farm with Chris Garland

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Climate Change Policy: Challenge It

By the end of this year, farmers are going to have the words climate change ringing in their ears. The Fart Tax wasn't the end of this issue, it was just the beginning.

As it does with most contentious legislation, the government released its discussion paper on climate change just before Christmas, so that most of the debate would get buried in the festive season.

The cause and effect between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming has not been proven beyond doubt. The NZ Climate Change Coalition is extremely sceptical that global warming is a man-made phenomenon. The government's proposed policy on greenhouse gas emissions is likely to impose severe restrictions on farming and forestry practice. Before these policies are accepted in any form, the underlying assumptions behind these policies need to be challenged. Remember YK2?

We therefore present an alternative view.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be holding consultation meetings around the country early this year. Details of dates, time and venues will be released shortly via the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change website. Submissions on this discussion document close 30 March 2007.

Proposed Measures

There's some pretty major stuff included in the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Paper that is principally targeted at farmers and foresters. Proposed measures include:

- Incentives to use nitrification inhibitors: A government-funded incentive to encourage farmers to use nitrification inhibitors to significantly reduce nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils.

- A charge on nitrogen fertiliser: A government-imposed charge that reflects the environmental cost of nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser use, calibrated to the international price for this greenhouse gas.

- A tradable permit regime to reduce agriculture emissions: Government-allocated tradeable agriculture permits for greenhouse gas emissions (based on farmers' current level of emissions) which farmers can buy or sell to reflect whether they are increasing or reducing their emissions.

- An offset scheme for agricultural emissions: Farmers can offset growth in their emissions by other activities such as planting trees, using nitrification inhibitors or improving energy efficiency.

- Requirements for local authorities to put limits on a farmer's greenhouse gas emissions. A National Environmental Standard, prepared by the Minister for the Environment, would require local authorities to put limits on a farmer's greenhouse gas emissions.

- Requirement for local authorities to control increased greenhouse gas emissions when formerly forested land is converted to agriculture.

- A charge when deforested land is used for agriculture. Land owners would pay a one-off government charge on expected agricultural emissions created when deforested land is used for agriculture. The charge would be set at a rate per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, for the additional emissions created from the new agricultural use.

- An afforestation grant scheme (AGS): People can tender for a grant to establish new Kyoto-compliant forests post 2007. (The Crown would retain all sink credits and associated liabilities. Preferred tenders could be weighted based on other environmental benefits.) There would be a choice between AGS and devolved Kyoto credits: landowners choose either the AGS or opt to receive forest sink credits plus their associated liabilities.

- A flat charge on land use change from forestry to another use for the loss of stored carbon in non-Kyoto (pre-1990) forests. Mature radiata pine forest is estimated to absorb and store around 800 tonnes of carbon dioxide. When land is deforested, the loss of stored carbon is estimated to create a liability to New Zealand of about $13,000 per hectare at current forecast prices for carbon: A charge, set at a rate per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, would be imposed for converting forests to another land use.

- Government-allocated tradeable deforestation permits to forest land owners: Those who deforest are liable for emissions above the level of permits they hold. There could be a threshold so that small areas of deforestation do not face a cost including deforestation for weed control.

- Centrally determined deforestation levels: New legislation to make it illegal to deforest land unless government approval has been granted (to ensure total deforestation remains within a government established target).

- RMA controls on deforestation: A National Environmental Standard would require local authorities to prescribe limits for greenhouse gas emissions for the explicit purpose of controlling deforestation.

Provided by Chris Garland, Baker and Associates (Wai) Limited.
Registered Agribusiness Consultant

Now, what do YOU think? :: Send your thoughts to us at mail@farmingshow.com.

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