Plans to Tax Cow and Sheep
New Zealand has proposed taxing sheep and cow burps in order to address one of the country’s major producers of greenhouse emissions.
It would be the first country to tax farmers for methane emissions from livestock.
New Zealand has a population of somewhat more than five million people, as well as around ten million cattle and twenty-six million sheep. Agriculture produces over half of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane.
Agricultural emissions, on the other hand, had historically been excluded from New Zealand’s carbon trading plan, which has been criticised by those pressing for the government to do more to combat global warming.
“There is no doubt that we need to reduce the amount of methane we emit into the atmosphere, and an efficient emissions pricing scheme for agriculture will play a critical role in achieving that,” said New Zealand’s climate change minister, James Shaw.
Farmers will be required to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2025, according to the plan.
Incentives are also included in the proposal for farmers that cut emissions through feed additives, and tree planting on farms might be used to offset emissions.
Andrew Hoggard, a dairy farmer and the national president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand, told the BBC that he supported the suggestions in general.
“We’ve been working on this for years with the government and other organisations to develop an approach that won’t shut down farming in New Zealand, so we’ve signed off on a lot of stuff we’re satisfied with.”
“But, you know, there’s always going to be a couple of dead rats you have to swallow, like all of these sorts of deals with numerous parties involved,” he continued.
Mr. Hoggard also stated that the plan’s implementation specifics have yet to be finalised.
“There are still the nuts and bolts to figure out, such as who really executes the system, so there is still stuff to work out with the government.”
According to the country’s environment ministry, the money earned from the plan would be invested in research, development, and advising services for farmers.
Last month, New Zealand’s finance minister pledged NZ$2.9 billion (£1.5 billion; $1.9 billion) to climate change projects, which would be funded through an emissions trading scheme that punished polluters.
After carbon dioxide, methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas (CO2).
It is one of the most powerful, accounting for one-third of current human-caused warming. Individual methane molecules warm the atmosphere more powerfully than single CO2 molecules.
At this year’s COP26 environmental summit in Glasgow, the United States and the European Union agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. More than 100 nations have signed on to the effort, including New Zealand.
Around 40% of CH4 originates from natural sources such as wetlands, but the majority presently comes from a variety of human activities ranging from livestock and rice farming to garbage dumps.