Friday, March 29, 2024

Ministry puts its own numbers on sequestration

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Claims carbon sequestration by natural vegetation on NZ sheep and beef farms made them almost carbon neutral have been dismissed by the Ministry for the Environment.
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Its report, Net Emissions and removals from vegetation and soils on sheep and beef farmland, estimates vegetation and soils on sheep and beef farms removed around 5487 kt CO2-equivalent from the atmosphere in 2018, or 33% of that claimed by the sector.

An Auckland University of Technology report for Beef and Lamb New Zealand estimated that woody vegetation removed between 10,394 kt CO2-e and 19,655 kt CO2-e each year, offsetting between 63% to 118% of the gross agricultural emissions.

The MFE report disputes this.

“These lower net carbon dioxide removals are mainly due to the inclusion of emissions from forest harvest, scrub clearance and deforestation, and the application of more appropriate sequestration rates for natural forest and scrub/shrub classes which better reflect vegetation age and management practices,” the report says.

It also attributes the discrepancy to using inconsistent or inappropriate emissions factors for some types of vegetation, not considering vegetation age or that the further growth of much on-farm scrub and shrubland is likely to be constrained by management or environmental factors, and it excluded emissions from soils.

BLNZ says the numbers are not so much the focus, but the fact that MFE acknowledges significant sequestration is occurring of sheep and beef farms.

Chief executive Sam McIvor says it stood by the AUT research it commissioned.

“We absolutely stand by Dr Bradley Case’s independently reviewed robust and credible research.

“While there are differences in some of the methodologies MFE used in their report – particularly their netting-off of all harvested forest that doesn’t take into account the replanting and additional new planting we know is happening – it reinforces the importance of on-farm sequestration. 

“What is encouraging is that MFE’s report recognises there is significant sequestration happening on sheep and beef farmland.

“Even using a highly conservative approach, they’ve arrived at a figure of a 33% offset of on-farm emissions by vegetation, which shows farmers are well on the journey no matter who is crunching the numbers.

“This sequestration is on top of the 30% reduction in absolute emissions that sheep and beef farmers have made since 1990.” 

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