Only one of the proposed options for a new emissions reduction target in the Government's Zero Carbon Bill consultation paper is both achievable and responsible, according to DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.
"To secure New Zealand's future as a sustainable agricultural nation, we must see long-lived gases reduced to nett
zero, and short-lived gases like methane reduced and stabilised in accordance with scientific evidence," he said.
"We know methane needs to reduce, and we welcome the opportunity to work with the Government on just how much that reduction needs to be."
Science showed that methane did not need to be reduced to zero because it was a short-lived gas, which could be reduced and stabilised "at a certain point", he said.
Methane was released as part of a cow's digestive process, which would make a nett zero methane emission target extremely difficult for the agricultural sector to meet, while allowing a specific quantity of methane emissions would safeguard New Zealand's future as an agricultural nation he said.
