Latest news with #EmissionsTradingScheme
Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Scale of planting to meet zero carbon goal ‘unachievable'
Dunedin City Council zero carbon manager Jinty MacTavish. File photo: Peter McIntosh It is "unachievable" for Dunedin to plant a path to its zero carbon goals, city councillors have been told. At a workshop yesterday, Dunedin City Council zero carbon manager Jinty MacTavish told councillors sequestration — capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, often with trees or vegetation — needed to be combined with a community-wide effort to reduce emissions. Staff had carried out modelling to provide an idea of the trees required to meet the council's goal, although she warned councillors the results were "incredibly theoretical and incredibly indicative". Speaking to the modelling, senior zero carbon policy analyst Rory MacLean said the scale of planting needed to meet the city's zero carbon goal was "unachievable". The council had aimed for Dunedin to be a net zero-carbon city by 2030, excluding biogenic methane, but conceded in January this was unlikely, regardless of the level of investment. Mr MacLean said more than 100,000ha of indigenous planting would have been required to meet the goal by 2030 — "and that's just imaginary numbers really". If the goal was shifted to 2035, 27,000ha of indigenous plantings or 16,500ha of exotic plantings were needed for the city to become net zero as there was more time for the trees to grow. "At present there's about 17,000ha of commercial exotic forests in Dunedin, so you're talking about a doubling or almost tripling of the land area covered by forests." In an "accelerated ambition" scenario, 20,000ha of indigenous plantings or 10,000ha of exotic plantings would meet the 2035 goal. Still, this was an "enormous" land area to be converted to forestry, Mr MacLean said. "One of the assumptions in this is that all the plantings happen this year, which obviously would not happen. "So if you're actually looking to do this, the land area would be even larger because you would need to space out the plantings over multiple years." Ms MacTavish said decreasing emissions would reduce the amount of land required for planting. "The intention of this was just to show that this needs to be a whole of community effort rather than something that the DCC alone would take on if it were to be achieved." In 2021-22, the most recent year the council had full data for, Dunedin's forests absorbed 493,000tonnes of CO₂. "It's not insignificant, and that sets us apart from other cities that don't have the large land area that Dunedin has. " Forests were the only type of sequestration included in the Emissions Trading Scheme and emerging methods of absorbing carbon — such as blue carbon (wetlands) or increasing soil carbon — were not easily measurable and verifiable, she said. A report on carbon renewals would go to council later this month.
Scoop
a day ago
- Business
- Scoop
Save Our Sheep Billboards Hit Wellington
Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 1:43 pm Press Release: Federated Farmers Federated Farmers have taken the fight for the future of New Zealand sheep farming to the streets of Wellington, with bold digital billboards visible directly from Ministers' Beehive offices. The message to politicians is clear and concise: sheep are not the problem - stop planting productive farmland in pine trees for carbon credits. Save our sheep billboard (Photo/Supplied) "We wanted this campaign to be bold and directly in politicians' faces. That's the only way we're going to get their attention," Federated Farmers meat & wool chair Toby Williams says. "Sheep farming is in crisis. We need the Government to urgently wake up to the impact poor policy is having on our farming families and rural communities. "Each year we're losing tens of thousands of hectares of productive farmland. "Where sheep and lambs once grazed there's now nothing but pine trees as far as the eye can see." Between 2017 and 2024, more than 260,000 hectares of productive sheep farming land were plastered in pine trees - never to return to pasture. In just one generation New Zealand has lost over two-thirds of our national flock, reducing from over 70 million sheep in 1982 to fewer than 25 million sheep today. "Our national flock is declining by almost a million sheep every year and the number one driver is carbon forestry," Williams says. "Farms are being converted to forestry because Government policy is screwing the scrum and making it more profitable to plant pine trees than to farm sheep. "The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is effectively subsidising pine trees to offset fossil fuel emissions, and that's pushing farming families off the land and destroying rural communities." New Zealand is the only country in the world that allows 100% carbon offsetting through forestry, with other countries recognising the risk and putting restrictions in place. Federated Farmers is now calling on the Government to urgently review the ETS and fix the rules to either limit or stop the offsetting of fossil fuel emissions with forestry. You can sign the petition at © Scoop Media
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Flawed ETS settings hurt NZ beef sector, stud bull breeders struggle
Federated Farmers national meat and wool chairman, Toby Williams. New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme settings are flawed, and that's hurting stud bull breeders and the wider beef sector. According to a 2023 report commissioned by Beef + Lamb NZ, New Zealand is the only country, aside from Kazakhstan, to allow 100% offsetting of carbon emissions by forestry within the
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Sheep And Beef Farmers Deliver Record Red Meat Returns
Press Release – New Zealand Government The global appetite for high-quality, natural protein is continuing to grow, driving strong prices for New Zealand lamb and beef. Minister of Agriculture New Zealand's sheep and beef farmers are delivering record-breaking red meat export sales and driving strong farmgate returns to the rural economy Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. 'March was a standout month for our red meat exporters, with a record $1.26 billion in export sales—a 34 per cent increase on March last year. First quarter exports also hit $3.28 billion, up 28 per cent from last year. This is great news for farmers, processors, and rural communities across New Zealand,' Mr McClay says. The global appetite for high-quality, natural protein is continuing to grow, driving strong prices for New Zealand lamb and beef. 'This reflects a deeper, longer-term shift in global consumer behaviour. People everywhere are turning to clean, high-quality, safe and sustainable animal protein, and New Zealand is delivering,' Mr McClay says. Beef and Lamb New Zealand's February forecast projected red meat export revenue to achieve an additional $1.2 billion for the 2024/25 production year. That outlook is well on track, thanks to our farmers hard work and world leading production, with April Stats NZ data confirming an additional $1.1 billion or 5 per cent increase in red meat exports over the past year bringing the total value to $10.6 billion. The Government is doing its part to ensure farmers see more returns at the farm gate by restoring confidence, slashing red tape, and opening up new opportunities. Key actions to drive growth and keep Wellington out of farming include: Removed agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme Currently banning full farm-to-forest conversions Started the process of replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management Moved to fundamentally reform the Resource Management Act Halted unworkable winter grazing, stock exclusion, and Significant Natural Area (SNA) rules Begun rebalancing Te Mana o te Wai to restore the rights of all water users Disbanded Labour's He Waka Eke Noa initiative Repealed the punitive Ute Tax Commenced an inquiry into rural banking Halted Labour's costly Freshwater Farm Plans Completed a number of Free Trade Agreements that offer farmers greater opportunity in new markets Removed $733 million in non-tariff trade barriers 'Our farmers are world leaders in producing high-quality, safe, sustainable, grass-fed meat. This Government backs them 100 per cent, and we'll keep cutting through the red tape so they can keep delivering for New Zealand,' Mr McClay says.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Sheep And Beef Farmers Deliver Record Red Meat Returns
Minister of Agriculture New Zealand's sheep and beef farmers are delivering record-breaking red meat export sales and driving strong farmgate returns to the rural economy Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. 'March was a standout month for our red meat exporters, with a record $1.26 billion in export sales—a 34 per cent increase on March last year. First quarter exports also hit $3.28 billion, up 28 per cent from last year. This is great news for farmers, processors, and rural communities across New Zealand,' Mr McClay says. The global appetite for high-quality, natural protein is continuing to grow, driving strong prices for New Zealand lamb and beef. 'This reflects a deeper, longer-term shift in global consumer behaviour. People everywhere are turning to clean, high-quality, safe and sustainable animal protein, and New Zealand is delivering,' Mr McClay says. Beef and Lamb New Zealand's February forecast projected red meat export revenue to achieve an additional $1.2 billion for the 2024/25 production year. That outlook is well on track, thanks to our farmers hard work and world leading production, with April Stats NZ data confirming an additional $1.1 billion or 5 per cent increase in red meat exports over the past year bringing the total value to $10.6 billion. The Government is doing its part to ensure farmers see more returns at the farm gate by restoring confidence, slashing red tape, and opening up new opportunities. Key actions to drive growth and keep Wellington out of farming include: Removed agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme Currently banning full farm-to-forest conversions Started the process of replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management Moved to fundamentally reform the Resource Management Act Halted unworkable winter grazing, stock exclusion, and Significant Natural Area (SNA) rules Begun rebalancing Te Mana o te Wai to restore the rights of all water users Disbanded Labour's He Waka Eke Noa initiative Repealed the punitive Ute Tax Commenced an inquiry into rural banking Halted Labour's costly Freshwater Farm Plans Completed a number of Free Trade Agreements that offer farmers greater opportunity in new markets Removed $733 million in non-tariff trade barriers 'Our farmers are world leaders in producing high-quality, safe, sustainable, grass-fed meat. This Government backs them 100 per cent, and we'll keep cutting through the red tape so they can keep delivering for New Zealand,' Mr McClay says.
