New Zealand drops plan to tax cattle burps and farts June 12, 2024

Just under half of New Zealand's emissions come from agriculture, with livestock the main culprit (Marty MELVILLE)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

New Zealand drops plan to tax cattle burps and farts

New Zealand's center-right government said Tuesday it is dropping a scheme to price greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming - scrapping the so-called burp tax.

New legislation will be presented to parliament this month to remove the agricultural sector from a new emissions pricing plan, the government said.

“The government is committed to meeting our climate change obligations without closing Kiwi farms,” said Agriculture Minister Todd McClay.

“It makes no sense to send jobs and production overseas while less carbon-efficient countries produce the food the world needs.”

New Zealand's economy is driven by agriculture, with around 10 million cattle and 25 million sheep roaming the country's pastures.

Just under half of New Zealand's emissions come from agriculture, with cattle being the main culprit.

Cattle burps and flatulence emit methane gas, while cattle urine releases nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.

The previous center-left Labour government targeted livestock in its drive to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

But the plan to tax livestock emissions, announced by then prime minister Jacinda Ardern in 2022, sparked nationwide protests from farmers, who feared it would hurt profits.

The new center-right government, which came to power at the end of last year, said it would remove agriculture, animal processors, and fertilizer companies from the emissions pricing scheme, which is due to start in 2025.

The government wants to help farmers reduce emissions through technology, without reducing production or exports, the agriculture minister said.

A new “pastoral group” would be set up to deal with biogenic methane emissions in the sector, he added.

Farmers welcomed the decision.

However, environmental groups attacked the government, which also announced plans at the weekend to reverse a five-year ban on new oil and gas exploration.

“After dumping oil, coal, and gas on the bonfire of the climate crisis, the government has now put half of our emissions from agriculture into the basket of too harsh industry-led measures,” said Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick.

Greenpeace accused the government of “waging an all-out war on nature”.

“In recent days, the coalition government has signaled that the most polluting sectors, industrial dairies, and new oil and gas exploration, are free to treat our atmosphere like an open sewer,” said Greenpeace spokeswoman Niamh O'Flynn.

Over the weekend, thousands of people also protested in New Zealand's largest cities against the new government's plans to allow major infrastructure projects to bypass some environmental regulations.

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