Abstract

The New Zealand Government has put in place a number of mechanisms aimed at improving farm sustainability and incentivising action. In relation to climate change, the key mechanism is the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which has been designed to put the New Zealand economy on a path to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to respond to the country’s international obligations. Although all developed countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol are responsible for their agricultural emissions, New Zealand is the only country in the world to include agriculture in an emissions trading scheme. With the inclusion of agriculture there are three key ways to incentivise a reduction in GHG emissions on-farm. These are through the point of obligation, the emission factor methodologies, and the allocation of "New Zealand Units" to the sector. Introducing agricultural GHG emissions into a New Zealand emissions trading scheme brings with it challenges and opportunities in a country that is heavily reliant on primary production for the health of the economy.

EH, Van Reenen, and AH Pickering

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 71, Invercargill, 152-156, 2011