Environmental activist group Greenpeace says it is "condemning" National's agricultural emissions policy, but a farming advocacy group has given the policy five stars.
National leader Christopher Luxon announced the policy, alongside fellow National MPs Todd McClay, Simon Watts and Nicola Grigg at a farm in Helensville today.
It includes vowing to keep agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but implementing a "fair and sustainable" pricing system for on-farm agricultural emissions by 2030 at the latest - five years later than the current ETS.
Greenpeace climate and agriculture campaigner Christine Rose said it was "yet more predatory delay".
"The policy is an abject failure to address agricultural emissions and tackle the escalating climate crisis.
"National’s policy is a dangerous denial of the science and reeks of dairy industry influence. We are running out of time to tackle the climate crisis and the need for action grows stronger every day."
She said a "credible" agricultural emissions policy would "start with immediate action to reduce cow numbers and phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, supporting a transition to more plant-based, regenerative organic agriculture".
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said there was "clear public and customer expectation" that all businesses, including farmers, paid for their emissions.
"Pushing action on climate change out into the never never isn’t going to wash anymore.
"It’s a backwards-facing policy that fails to recognise changing values of modern-day market expectations and environmental standards.
"We have no intention of walking away from agricultural emissions pricing policy. It is the right thing to do.”
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said the policy earned five stars, however.
He said it was pleasing to see the National Party pick up on important issues for farmers.
"It shows that they’ve been listening to farmers' concerns."
A firm commitment to review the "current unscientific and unrealistic" methane reduction targets was particularly pleasing, he said, as they could "only have been achieved through unacceptable reductions in sheep, beef and dairy production".
"Putting a price on emissions to drive blindly towards those targets would be absolutely devastating for farmers, rural communities and the New Zealand economy.
"We can’t just reduce emissions by farming less and planting productive farmland in pine trees. We need to be looking to new technologies whether that be methane inhibitors, vaccines or gene-editing.
"New Zealand farmers are committed to doing our bit to stop additional warming, but the policies that support emissions reductions need to be pragmatic, sensible and fair."
Groundswell NZ co-founder Bryce McKenzie said the policy would be a "reprieve", saying the delay on agriculture emissions pricing was a "welcome improvement" to the Government's plan.
However, the group believed there should be no emissions tax on any food production, he said.
“Food producers are already part of the Emissions Trading Scheme as we pay the tax on all commodities the same as everyone else and we are already taxed on emissions generated from production machinery as well.
“Food producers should not be punished by a system that is a hammer seeing everything as a nail.”
ACT Party primary industries spokesman Mark Cameron said the party welcomed some of the National Party policy, but said farmers shouldn't pay a price for methane emissions if farmers in countries which were our biggest trading partners did not.
“It’s positive that National has adopted ACT’s positions – that an emissions price must be tied to that of our main trading partners, farmers are able to offset all on-farm sequestration from their emissions liability, and that emissions-reduction technologies must come before a tax.
“It is disappointing though that National, by saying half of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, is conflating methane with carbon dioxide. It needs to acknowledge the fundamental difference between methane from livestock (a short-lived greenhouse gas) and carbon dioxide (a near permanent greenhouse gas).
"New Zealand farmers are the most emissions efficient farmers in the world and ACT is committed to policies which reduce the emission intensity of our products while ensuring that production is not driven offshore to less emissions-efficient competitors.
“ACT will tie any emissions price to that of our five main trading partners to ensure there is a level playing field for growers and producers competing overseas. Right now, farmers in countries who are our biggest trading partners are not paying a price for their methane emissions, and so neither should New Zealand farmers. We’ll remove barriers stalling the uptake of emissions reducing technologies. And we’ll ensure farmers can offset all on-farm sequestration from their emissions liability.
“Only ACT opposed the Zero Carbon Act. We’ve said from the start that the legislation is cumbersome and bureaucratic and will allow Governments to micromanage the economy at great cost.”
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