April 2, 2007

New Zealand dairy farmers say milk trade likely to decide emission policy
 

 

An environment official from New Zealand has projected there would be a 200 percent increase in dairying's methane and nitrous oxide emissions from 1990 to 2020 at present levels.

 

Climate Change Minister David Parker noted that the four percent increase in milk production by the country's leading dairy producer Fonterra could increase its emission levels by a further 55 percent.

 

But there was some good news with New Zealand's transition to a lower emission economy likely be easier than in much of the rest of the world, and the power sector expected to do more than agriculture.

 

Parker said while New Zealand per capita greenhouse gas emissions made up just 0.2 to 0.3 percent of world emissions, the country was the 12th highest emitter by population.

 

The on climate change was not very much in the minority. While the Government had been told 18 months ago it was pushing too hard on climate change, it was now being told it was not strong enough. The frequency of serious weather events was likely to increase with what had been classified as one in 20 year droughts in Otago now likely to occur every five years at high cost.

 

Parker ran through the four pillars of the Government's options for a plan of action on climate change: adaptation, reducing emissions, capitalising on business opportunities and working together. He said that over the last 14 years, emissions on each unit of production had dropped by one percent/year with no effort put into reducing them.

 

But Parker said the Government could use the Resource Management Act (RMA) at the point of land use change. Although this was not on the agenda it was something that could be done without any change in present laws "if there was a repetition of the tax fiasco".

 

Other options were levies on nitrogen (N) fertilisers and credits for use of N inhibitors which he hoped farmers would be willing to experiment with and adopt.

 

Deforestation was out of the issue with profits of NZD$3000 to NZD$4000 per hectare being made while the country was going backwards in climate change.

 

He said the problem was overstated at present as deforestation was becoming more rapid because land owners saw regulations coming.

 

Dairy farmer Roy Johnston, in his second year of N inhibitors from Waikato, said he had concerns about Government threats to use the RMA as he is clueless whether the system can identify whether the water quality is better or his milk production is up.

 

Mike Jebson, the director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's natural resources group, said there was a chance the Government would increase its funding of the Climate Change Consortium in order to "get on top of methane long-term".

 

He said New Zealand's projected liability from the first Kyoto Protocol period was $600 million which, based on emissions of different livestock, would mean NZ$40/cow, NZ$45/sheep, NZ$10/deer and NZ$27 for beef cattle.

 

With one tonne of urea producing 2.63 tonnes of carbon dioxide worth $42 in emissions, a levy of this amount could be added, increasing the purchase price by 7.5 percent.

 

Any tax taken on N would be recycled into agriculture, Jebson said.

 

Reducing greenhouse gases was important for New Zealand brands in a marketing sense so producers could say their products were greenhouse gas friendly as well as being of top quality.