OPINION: The Hound would be a rich canine if he got a dollar for every time he's heard multi-national, fundraising organisation Greenpeace claim the answer to NZ's climate change challenge is to ban synthetic fertiliser.
However, according to the latest figures of NZ's greenhouse gas inventory, published in April this year, banning synthetic fertiliser won't make much difference.
It shows that while ag emissions make up 50% of the country's GHGs, nitrous oxide from synthetic fertilisers only makes up 4% of these ag emissions and therefore just 2% of NZ's total GHG emissions.
So, banning synthetic fertilisers in NZ would make a negligible reduction in our country's GHG output.
Perhaps Greenpeace should spend more time doing the maths on what actually might have made a real difference to our emissions profile than making up silly claims that just don't add up.