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-of-jail-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.”
