SS4C NZ Response to New Proposed Rules
SS4C NZ Response to New Proposed Rules for Agricultural Emissions
Weds, 17 July 2019
School Strike 4 Climate NZ welcomes the coalition Government’s endeavour to take action on reducing agricultural emissions but is disappointed at the weak stance that the Government has taken on the issue.
Agricultural emissions account for 48% of our emissions profile in Aotearoa and as we are in the midst of a climate crisis, SS4C NZ believe there needs to be ambitious and more meaningful solutions in place which tackle the largest sector of our emissions profile.
“We know we need to stay below 1.5 degrees of
warming to sustain life on Earth and therefore have a
future. According to the IPCC, this requires immediate,
transformative reductions in carbon emissions over the next
decade. Therefore, we know that in order to stay below 1.5
degrees of warming, we need to halve our emissions by 2030.
The cost of inaction is our future and our collective home
and we refuse to sit by and let that slip through our
fingers” says Sophie Handford from SS4C NZ.
48%
of our total emissions profile held by agriculture is the
largest percentage held by any one sector. SS4C NZ believe
transformative and bold action is needed in this area if we
are going to have a chance at safeguarding our home and that
of the animals we share this planet with.
“Bringing agricultural emissions into the ETS is
a step in the right direction and we appreciate this.
However the 95% discount removes the disincentive for
polluters to stop polluting as the government and taxpayers
will be the ones to foot the bill of their malpractice.”
says Edward White, an Auckland organiser of
SS4C.
The current action proposed by the government
constitutes a voluntary report from farmers on their
emissions ahead of 2024 where mandatory reporting will be
inducted, however, SS4C recommends that this becomes
immediately compulsory in order to follow through with
understanding in regulation.
SS4C NZ supports
agriculture being included in the ETS as a first step, but
are disappointed with the way in which the Government plans
to reduce emissions from this sector, as addressed in their
latest proposal. “It is unjust to us, to taxpayers, to
farmers who will need to transition, and to the future
generations who will have to deal with the inaction.
Taxpayers will foot the bill and not the polluters. Those
who are responsible need to take the blame and reduce their
emissions.” says Edward White. Sophie Handford, of SS4C,
says “this isn’t transformational change, and we have a
real opportunity here to lead the way in sustainable farming
and methane reduction”.
SS4C agrees that too
little action is being taken by New Zealand to do our part
in consideration of staying below 1.5 degrees and the
potential negative effects falling on future generations.
As a developed country with an economy driven by
agriculture, we have the potential to innovate and lead in
this space on the international
stage.
ENDS