Feds prepare 5-point strategy for ets response
May 18th, 2009
FedFarmers will shortly launch a five-point response to the threat posed by climate change, starting with the removal of agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme. It hopes to capitalise on Aust’s decision to put its primary sector on the slow track for inclusion by 2015 in a scheme farmers fear will wreck the industry by imposing unsustainable levies on agricultural emissions. Under the Fed’s proposal; (1) farming would first be removed from the ETS while (2) more funds are devoted to research and (3) 1m hectares of trees would be planted. This would be followed by (4) construction of long-term water storage and (5) development of more robust water quality and management strategies.
FedFarmers CEO, Connor English, says development of a water quality plan requires input from a range of organisations; Fonterra, Dairy NZ, Irrigation NZ and regional councils. The time has passed, he says, for farmers to be climate change deniers. “The law says the ETS is here to stay.” He says the key to effective research is not just to focus on mitigation of emissions but also to improve on farm efficiency and productivity.
Funding for emissions reduction research is likely to get the nod in the May 28 budget, which is to include the Govt’s replacement for the scrapped $700m Fast Forward Fund. The new system is to be a pay-as-you-go scheme, with no large capital outlay against the Crown accounts.
Copyright © The Main Report Group - NZ AGri-Business
