Non, Paris!
OPINION: Critics of NZ’s commitment to the Paris Accord, such as Groundswell and others, continue to push for an exemption for ag, arguing that the threat of trade retaliation is more hypothetical than real.
Farmer lobby Groundswell is organising a nationwide gathering on Thursday to protest the Government’s agriculture emissions pricing plan.
The proposed plan, released last week, is currently in a consultation phase and would see farmers charged an emissions levy on a farm-level.
Previously, Groundswell have been vocal in their opposition to emissions pricing, even presenting an alternative to industry bodies’ He Waka Eke Noa plan. The Government, in making its emissions pricing plan, has taken several recommendations from the He Waka Eke Noa partnership’s plan.
In an email sent to members, Groundswell claims the plan would cut food production by up to 20% in some sectors.
“All this, while households across New Zealand pay more and more for food in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” the rural ginger group says.
They claim that emissions pricing will lead to food scarcity, higher food prices, “and even more productive farmland planted in pines, leaving our rural communities and rural businesses hanging by a thread”.
They claim the emissions pricing plan is in breach of the Paris Agreement which set a goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
The agreement states that countries must lower emissions “in a manner that does not threaten food production”, something Groundswell claims the Government has breached with the plan currently being consulted on.
“Recent polling shows that most New Zealanders oppose reducing herd sizes to meet emissions reduction targets. Now we can demonstrate that the majority cares deeply enough about it to protest in the streets.”
The nationwide protest is set for towns and cities across the country, with the group telling people to “Come by tractor, truck, ute, car, or on foot”.
The protest will take place at midday this Thursday, 20 October.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The 2024-25 season apple harvest has “well and truly exceeded expectations”, says Apples and Pears NZ chief executive Karen Morrish.
Through collaborative efforts with exhibitors, visitors, and industry partners, Fieldays says it is reaffirming its commitment to environmental responsibility with new initiatives for 2025.
OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their…
OPINION: PM Chris Luxon is getting pinged lately for rolling out the old 'we're still a new government' line when…