Climate change: James Shaw disappointed with current options to tax agricultural emissions
Climate Change Minister James Shaw says he is disappointed with the interim options presented by a working group on agricultural emissions. The options from the He Waka Eke Noa scheme a partnership between the Government and peak agricultural bodies all deliver less than a one per cent reduction on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, New Zealands largest emitting sector. The scheme was asked to find a way to price agricultural emissions fairly, as the sector currently enjoys an implicit subsidy with its exemption from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). But all of the options it has suggested rely not on the price itself to lower emissions, but instead on using the money raised to fund new research and incentives. READ MORE: * Is farm-specific emission pricing possible? * Climate change: Official plan to price and cut agricultural emissions would lead to less than 1 per cent reduction * What would a new climate change minister mean for climate action? Shaw was asked if he was disappointed with the options and said yes. Yes there is clearly more work to be done on those proposals before final decisions in March, Shaw said. He said incentives had a role to play but the price itself should also lower emissions. Of course. People respond to a price signal. They also respond to incentives. So there are two parts of it. The Government legislated for agriculture to enter the ETS in 2025 if a solution was not agreed on and even enter earlier in 2023 if sufficient progress was not made. Shaw said the option of the sector entering the ETS in 2023 remained on the table. However, that backstop option is also projected to reduce emissions only by less than one per cent because the Government has indicated agriculture would have a 95 per cent discount. Shaw said the sector had been negotiating in good faith and it was a challenging area. The Government have committed to lowering methane emissions - which largely come from agriculture by 10 per cent by 2030, something none of the options on the table would manage. Greenpeace and Forest and Bird have suggested that Shaw should pull the plug on the partnership altogether. "The Government must get real and put rules in place that will actually reduce emissions, Greenpeace campaigner Christine Rose said. We know what needs to be done, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw need to show some mettle, stand up to the dairy industry and include 100 per cent of agricultural emissions immediately. Dairy NZ chair Jim van der Poel said putting agriculture into the ETS at a processor level would be unfair as it would not recognise farmers who were doing on-farm work to reduce emissions. The NZ ETS pricing would be out of farmers control and they would face a broad-based tax. Also, farmers wouldnt get recognition for on-farm work to reduce emissions. Were working to get a better deal for farmers while still meeting environmental goals, van der Poel said.