An own goal for NZ farming. Where is the greenhouse they’re so frightened of? From livestock to laughing stock.
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New Zealand has unveiled a plan to tax sheep and cattle burps in a bid to tackle one of the country’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases, says BBC News.

It would make it the first nation to charge farmers for the methane emissions from the animals they keep.

New Zealand is home to just over five million people, along with around 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep.

Almost half the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane.

However, agricultural emissions have previously not been included in New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme, which has been criticised by those calling for the government to do more to stop global warming.

„There is no question that we need to cut the amount of methane we are putting into the atmosphere, and an effective emissions pricing system for agriculture will play a key part in how we achieve that,“ New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw said.

Under the proposal farmers will have to pay for their gas emissions from 2025.

The plan also includes incentives for farmers who reduce emissions through feed additives, while planting trees on farms could be used to offset emissions.

Andrew Hoggard – who is a dairy farmer and the national president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand – told the BBC that he broadly approved of the proposals.

Full article here.

via Tallbloke’s Talkshop

 June 9, 2022, by oldbrew 

New Zealand’s plan to tax cow and sheep burps