MPI Opens $3m Greenhouse Gas Research Funding Round

The fund makes $3 million available for new projects.

MPI says it is inviting research proposals to support improvements in New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use. 

The New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports on human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases across sectors including energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry, and waste.  

The report is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat each year. 

The GHGIR fund supports research that improves the accuracy and robustness of this reporting. Outcomes from past projects include: 

• New data on non-pasture feed use for dairy cattle, beef cattle, and sheep; 
• New Zealand-specific nitrous oxide emission factors from animal excreta, differentiated by stock type and terrain. 

Stephanie Preston, MPI's director of programmes and planning, policy and trade, says the fund helps ensure New Zealand's greenhouse gas reporting is based on the best available science and data.

Proposals Sought From 11 Priority Areas

Preston says this year MPI is seeking targeted proposals from 11 priority areas.

"Successful outcomes will inform MPI’s annual reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Agreement on climate change," she says.

Applications close on 1 September 2026, with funding decisions expected by late-January 2027. 

2026/2027 Priority Research Areas

MPI is seeking proposals that address one or more of the following: 

• Post-1989 Natural Forest carbon stock and stock change 

• Post-1989 Natural Forest mapping 

• Contribution of Harvested Wood Products 

• Updated pasture quality estimates 

• Monte Carlo analysis of GHG Inventory 

• Assessment of the suitability of ADOPT modelling and alternative models 

• Potential of wearables system activity data 

• Estimating methane emissions using inverse modelling 

• Assessment of optimum spatial disaggregation for key inventory categories 

• Exploring long-term approaches to projecting economic trends and technological development 

• Improved data for informing estimates of on-farm sequestration. 

The priorities paper for 2026 is available on MPI’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding webpage. 

How to Apply

To apply, visit MPI’s website to access the application guidelines, priorities paper, and examples of previously funded projects.