B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says ongoing government support for He Waka Eke Noa is essential.
Sheep and beef farmers are being urged to let the Government know that there needs to be a clear differentiation between short and long-lived greenhouse gases in its Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP).
Consultation on a reductions plan discussion document, which was released last month, closes on Wednesday.
In an email to its members last Friday, Beef + Lamb NZ said it was making a submission and it encouraged farmers to do the same.
It said the Government needs to work with the agriculture and forestry sectors to find ways to limit carbon forestry offsetting while ensuring productive landscapes are maintained.
Ways to support native forestry and the establishment of permanent sinks are also needed.
It said there needs to be limits on the use of forestry offsets through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), as well as criteria established to determine the extent of these carbon forests to address the wholesale conversion of sheep and beef farms into forestry for carbon farming.
In the email B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor said the Government’s ongoing support for He Waka Eke Noa, which is developing an alternative pricing and reward mechanism for agriculture, is essential.
He said the best way to get action off the ground is to work with farming communities to co-design policies that are owned by the community and to support farmers to change.
Continued support for research and development is also essential.
For agriculture that would support much-needed technologies and tools to further enable emission reductions on-farm without negatively affecting productivity.
More information on the ERP, including how to make a submission, is on the Ministry for the Environment’s website.
The plan is due to be finalised early next year.
