Sheep & Beef Farm Conversion to Forestry Slows, Risk Remains
Conversions of sheep and beef farms to forestry have slowed, however new research from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) suggests land of value for food production remains at risk.
The company claims the review is significantly undermining confidence in the role forestry must play in fighting climate change.
Founder and chief executive of Tāmata Hauhā, Blair Jamieson says he is concerned that the Government’s attempts to change the ETS will take forestry off the table and significantly slow New Zealand’s progress towards reducing the impact of climate change.
“This constant tampering stems from a huge misconception that we have an oversupply of forestry which enables big polluters to purchase cheap offsets to reduce their emissions,” Jamieson says.
“Forestry isn’t the issue,” he says. “The problem is the quantity of fabricated credits the Government gives away or sells to emitters.”
Jamieson says that unlike credits that are sequestered from forestry and that genuinely offset emissions, these credits are not real.
“We understand the Government is set to issue 380 million tonnes of these fabricated carbon credits by 2034 – and because these credits are detached from any genuine sequestration and fail to offset any emissions, they don’t help address our climate emergency,” he says.
“Additionally, only 9% of the ETS is permanent forestry, the remainder is production.”
Jamieson says that to create a sustainable future, there needs to be an exploration of how forestry can contribute to the solution.
“We have a collective responsibility to safeguard the well-being of our planet and future generations,” he says. “We’re urging all stakeholders, including government, industries, and communities to work together to have a mature conversation about recognising and harnessing the potential of forestry as a climate change solution to achieve a sustainable future.”
