Displaying items by tag: climate change

Real money and real commitment in the government’s Budget will help farmers make necessary changes to their farming systems, says the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor.

OPINION: That old saying about not being able to see the wood for the trees could well describe the government’s infatuation with forestry at the expense of farming.

A new lobby group is calling for an immediate halt to the government’s plans to plant a billon trees, saying it will damage the environment and harm New Zealand’s rural economy.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw presented the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill in Parliament last week. Here are excerpts from his speech.

OPINION: The proposed livestock methane target reduction looks like a case of the Government killing the golden goose – or more correctly the cow, sheep and deer – of the NZ economy. 

Climate change may force the kiwifruit industry to look for new places to grow its vines – especially the green hayward variety.

National's climate change spokesman Todd Muller says the proposed target for methane reduction puts the New Zealand agricultural sector at “real risk”.

It's not only the rural sector coming under pressure to clean up its environmental footprint.

On emissions targets, dairy farmers are promoting the lower numbers put out last year by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.

The farming sector has engaged in the national effort to draft a credible response to climate change so New Zealand is seen internationally to be doing its bit.