Groundswell co-founder Bryce McKenzie. The lobby group proposes integrating various environmental policies for biodiversity, emissions and water into one plan.
The Groundswell lobby group has announced an alternative to He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN), claiming the industry body’s initiatives to address climate change have lost focus and its solutions are little more than a tax on farming.
In a policy document released this week, Groundswell says the proposed pricing options allow the Government of the day to tax farmers at a price of their choosing.
“If these options proceed, He Waka Eke Noa emissions pricing will not be based on agriculture’s effect on climate, but rather set to achieve arbitrary government targets, which have no basis in science,” the document said.
The lobby group claims that pricing emissions without credible, workable options to reduce them, HWEN will force farmers and growers to reduce stocking rates and productivity.
“Since foreign, less carbon-efficient agriculture sectors would just fill the gap NZ agriculture would leave, the price signals would lead to an increase in global emissions,” it said.
Groundswell proposes integrating various environmental policies for biodiversity, emissions and water into one plan that will include emission reductions that will result, what it calls an integrated Environmental Policy and Action Framework (EPAF).
“The major change Groundswell is proposing is to link all environmental issues into one integrated policy framework,” its policy document states.
“Nature and farms do not exist in silos – everything is interconnected.”
Proposed legislation should reflect and build on the many farm-led initiatives that are addressing environmental issues.
“Environmental Policy needs to be more focused on achieving environmental outcomes, rather than making rules.”
Groundswell said emission reduction measures need to recognise the lack of alternatives or options, and it proposes the agriculture sector adopt a short-term research fund to develop emission reduction alternatives within the HWEN framework.
It suggests this be followed by a more comprehensive emissions reduction scheme based on new technology, including subsidising and incentivising the adoption of new management and technology.
“This would allow time to investigate and test viable solutions,” it said.
Groundswell says farmers need to take the initiative or else the Government will continue to dictate.
“This is an opportunity for us to control our destiny while looking after the environment under a workable legislative framework, but it needs widespread support to be realised,” it said.
Groundswell co-founder Bryce McKenzie said in an interview it is unclear whether the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Consortium is able to provide short-term solutions needed by farmers and for which the lobby group is advocating.
