Govt emissions will lead to production loss and leakage - DCANZ

Executive director Kimberly Crewther says the Government’s proposal is fundamentally different to what He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) put forward. She says DCANZ has raised concerns about how the changes made are pushing a system that achieves a reduction by cutting dairy production.

“In our view, [the proposal] holds a very strong risk of emission leakage, being counterproductive to the global emissions reduction outcomes that we are trying to contribute to,” she told Rural News.

Crewther says the agricultural sector had worked hard to come to a consensus, which took into account a broad range of considerations. This included taking advantage of the opportunities that exist in NZ and managing the risk of undue economic impact on rural communities – especially if that involves cuts to production in NZ.

Crewther says DCANZ believes the data set the Government used in its modelling has produced a grossly inaccurate result for the dairy industry.

In its submission, DCANZ says, rather than achieving emissions reductions by cutting agricultural production, which is what the Government is proposing, a better approach would be to incentivise the uptake of new tools and practices that reduce emissions. It believes such a move would maintain the positive contribution of NZ dairy to global food systems.

DCANZ also wants the Government to fully commit to a farm-level system from the outset through the removal of the processor-level backstop.

“As well, we want certainty to farmers as they transition into a pricing system by capping levy prices for the first five years and ensuring they are set at the minimal level required to fund incentives, sequestration, research and development, and administration,” Crewther says.