In January Climate Change Minister James Shaw signalled agriculture could be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme and this week the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton said climate change policy cannot ignore agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
New Zealand has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 but Upton said climate change policies lack bite for fear they would compromise competitiveness.
He suggested different targets for methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide and added his support for Parliament to pass a Zero Carbon Act and set up an independent climate commission.
NZ could take the lead in managing methane and researching emission levels the planet can live with.
A short-lived greenhouse gas compared to nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, methane is reversible as it breaks down in the atmosphere to carbon dioxide, without adding to overall CO2 levels, and water.
But that does not mean all gases have to be treated the same and he hopes to produce a report on agricultural gases later in the year.
Upton has just released a report on a Zero Carbon Act and said a key goal is to get cross-party support for a zero carbon economy and the establishment of a climate commission, as happened in the United Kingdom where the House of Commons passed similar legislation 463 to three.
A commission would recommend legislated greenhouse gas emission targets and provide independent expert analysis and advice to the Government.
The Zero Carbon Act would create a path for NZ to become a net zero emitting economy by 2050.
NZ’s agricultural emissions have declined per unit of output and the country is taking a leadership role in researching agricultural emissions.
“But this has not to date been reflected in NZ’s ambitions for emissions’ reductions,” Upton said.
NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions are 45% carbon dioxide, 43% methane and 11% nitrous oxide. Levels of all have increased.
Nitrous oxide is a warming agent about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It accumulates in the atmosphere where it can stay for up to 114 years and in doing so destroys the ozone layer.
“Because it accumulates, reducing the flow of emissions will not be good enough.
“To halt its contribution to warming, either emissions have to be eliminated or negative emissions technologies have to be deployed to negate its impact,” he said.
Methane is a more potent warming agent than carbon dioxide but breaks down to carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere quite quickly.
“If the source of the methane is agricultural there is no net injection of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
“Given its shorter lifetime, emitting methane will not have the same irreversible inter-generational warming consequences that carbon dioxide or the release of nitrous oxide have.”
But emissions of all three gases have to be reduced.
Reducing agricultural emissions requires urgent attention and could mean different targets for different gases.
“It could also mean restricting the way in which actions in respect of one gas or sink can be used to offset another gas.”
Federated Farmers climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard supports the thrust of the report but said it can work only if there is cross-party support backed by a climate commission using informed science.
Hoggard also supports suggestions that targets be set for different greenhouse gase to ensure targets are achievable and fair.
He noted carbon dioxide emissions had increased 78% since 1990 whereas methane had increase 5%.
“This surely emphasises that while agricultural emissions are part of the problem, there needs to be a pragmatic and balanced approach to tackling how this country manages and reduces all greenhouse gases.”
In January Shaw announced an expectation agriculture would be included in the ETS this Parliamentary term and expected it to cover 5% of its emissions at an annual cost of $44m.
His view was linked to the expected passing this year of the Zero Carbon Act.
The extent of the sector’s final liability or how it would be calculated was not clear but Shaw has said meeting the $44m cost will equate to a $1500 tax for an average dairy farm and $700 for an average sheep and beef farm.
