He Waka Eke Noa recommendations best option for farmers - DairyNZ

DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors Chair Fraser McGougan. Photo / Supplied

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DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors Chair and farmer, Fraser McGougan supports He Waka Eke Noa's recommendations report as a better solution to pricing agriculture emissions for the farming sector.

He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) is a partnership between farmers, agricultural sector industry bodies and Māori - with input from Primary Industries and Environment ministries.

Last week the partnership released its report to the Government recommending a farm-level split-gas levy with built-in incentives to reduce emissions and sequester carbon, starting from 2025.

It will apply different levy rates to short- and long-lived gas emissions recognising that methane, as a short-lived gas, has a different warming impact than long-lived gases such as carbon dioxide.

Unlike CO2, methane only needs to reduce and stabilise, rather than go to net zero.

DairyNZ was one of the 10 primary sector organisations involved in He Waka Eke Noa.

A collaborative approach was important for the agriculture industry, McGougan said.

"Getting everyone together and formulating what will best suit our sector is what He Waka Eke Noa is all about," he told The Country Sport Breakfast's Brian Kelly.

He Waka Eke Noa's recommendations recognised the work that had already been done on each farm individually, which was a better outcome for Kiwi farmers, McGougan said.

"Rather than just a blanket ETS, which is basically a tax, this way is incentive-driven."

These incentives would help farmers decrease emissions and invest in technology, he said.

"It gives us options as farmers to do better, rather than being told what to do."

Pricing hadn't been set yet, but He Waka Eke Noa had recommended a cap of 11 cents per kg on methane for the first three years.

McGougan believed this wouldn't be a prohibitive cost for farmers, especially when compared to the Emissions Trading Scheme.

"It will be at the Government's discretion what the offsets are but hopefully it won't be at the ETS [pricing] because if things are at the ETS [prices] we'd be going out of business pretty quickly."

The Government will now consider the partnership's advice alongside advice from the Climate Change Commission, before making decisions later this year on how agricultural emissions are to be priced from 2025.

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More about He Waka Eke Noa

The 13 partners in He Waka Eke Noa included 10 primary sector organisations and Māori.

He Waka Eke Noa consulted with farmers on the proposed system and used their feedback to strengthen the final recommendation.

DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb consultation:

DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb also joined together for further consultation with farmers.

• More than 2600 dairy farmers and sheep and beef farmers attended 71 He Waka Eke Noa events hosted by DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (55 in-person events and 16 online meetings).

• 99 per cent of farmers said they didn't want agriculture priced through the Emissions Trading Scheme.

• 86 per cent supported farm-level pricing as the final outcome of He Waka Eke Noa.

For more information on He Waka Eke Noa, go to the HWEN website or DairyNZ's website.