New Zealand is the first in the world to tax on-farm agricultural emissions

The New Zealand farmers will begin Tax agricultural emissions by 2025That’s a measure Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it would be a world first.

The government will accept the main recommendation of the Climate Action Association of the primary sector Price emissions at the farm level instead of including them in a country’s emissions trading schemeArdern said in Wellington last Tuesday.

There will be structure Operational by 2025 And it will be needed Farmers start paying a regulated price for emissions of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

“This program will lead the world in reducing emissions, giving New Zealand farmers a competitive advantage and improving our export trade,” he said. “No other country in the world has yet developed a system for pricing and reducing agricultural emissions, so our farmers will benefit from being the first to act.”

New Zealand is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, and agriculture plays an important role in the economy. Agriculture accounts for half of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Ardern said it would allow the South Pacific country to meet its legal target of reducing methane emissions to 10% below 2017 levels by 2030.

But the farmers are upset as the government has not accepted all their suggestions, according to the lobby group Federation of Farmers. They fear that some people will leave the land because the costs of land are high.

The government acknowledges in the consultation document that reductions in emissions are expected from changes in land use and increased agricultural efficiency and emissions mitigation.

Fission gas approach

The government supports a fission gas approach where long-lived gases such as carbon dioxide and methane differ in price.

Ministers will set the price charged to farmers based on advice from the Climate Commission. This is a departure from the Association’s idea of ​​an Industry Advisory Board providing guidance. According to government documents, the price of methane will be fixed annually, though there is scope for setting the price lower.

Revenue from the tax would be recycled through incentives designed to encourage the adoption of approved mitigation technologies, such as methane inhibitors, which would lower a farmer’s total bill.. The money will also go towards research into new ways to control greenhouse gas emissions.

Another departure from the association’s proposals is that the government won’t allow carbon sequestration from on-farm plants to offset farmers’ emissions. Instead, it wants the Emissions Trading Scheme to be the only mechanism for approving such plantings.