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New Zealand invites comments on plans to tax farm emissions
The New Zealand government has announced proposals to introduce farm-level taxes for agricultural emissions, with the aim of incentivising farmers to adopt climate mitigation measures. The plans involve pricing long-lived greenhouse gases and biogenic methane separately; farmers who meet certain thresholds for livestock numbers or fertiliser use will pay a bill that depends on their farm areas, livestock numbers and production, and nitrogen fertiliser use; incentive payments (funded by the tax) will be made to farmers who adopt a range of emissions reduction measures; additional payments will be made to farmers who sequester carbon through managing indigenous vegetation. A consultation on the proposals is open until 18 November 2022.
Media coverage includes:
- Al Jazeera: New Zealand farmers protest world’s first livestock ‘burp tax’
- He Waka Eke Noa (Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership): He Waka Eke Noa sees pros and cons in Government proposals on agricultural emissions pricing
- The Financial Times: New Zealand farmers angered by ‘fart tax’ plan
- Federated Farmers of New Zealand: Government’s farm emissions plan - say goodbye small town New Zealand
- Stuff: Cabinet overruled Climate Change Minister James Shaw on agriculture emissions pricing plan
Access the consultation here. See also the TABLE explainers Agricultural methane and its role as a greenhouse gas and Methane and the sustainability of ruminant livestock.
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