Stuart Smith
National MP for Kaikoura
stuartsmith.national.org.nz
On Sunday, our Science, Innovation and Technology Spokesperson, Hon Judith Collins, announced National’s Harnessing Biotech Plan that will end the ban on genetic modification and gene editing in New Zealand. The policy will unlock the benefits of these technologies for science, health and agriculture. The following day, Christopher Luxon launched our Agricultural Emissions policy, which neatly dovetails with the Biotech Plan.
The agricultural sector is crucial to the New Zealand economy, with our farmers being world leaders in pasture-based farming. However, they have been unfairly labelled as climate villains, primarily due to biogenic methane emissions, which were thought to account for nearly half of our total emissions.
Our plan is centred around equipping farmers with effective tools to reduce emissions while maintaining productivity. This includes lifting the ban on gene editing and genetically modified technologies, implementing farm-level emissions measurements by 2025, continuing investments in research and development and establishing on-farm sequestration standards based on robust scientific criteria. If you can measure it, you can claim it.
By embracing biotechnologies such as methane inhibitors, animal vaccines and genetically modified grasses we can make significant strides in reducing farm emissions. A GM High Metabolisable Energy (HME) ryegrass developed here in New Zealand had to be field-tested offshore due to our outdated legislation. The HME ryegrass is not only drought-tolerant but also reduces animal emissions and enhances productivity.
We propose a separate pricing system specifically tailored for agricultural emissions, distinct from the broader Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This pricing system will be designed to effectively reduce emissions without jeopardizing agricultural production or encouraging the relocation of farming activities overseas.
Furthermore, we will conduct a thorough review of methane targets to ensure their alignment with the objective of no additional warming from agriculture, as stipulated by the Zero Carbon Act. This review is long overdue. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognized in its sixth assessment report (AR6) that agricultural emissions have been overstated by a factor of 3-4. In other words, when considering the revised metric, our agricultural emissions account for only 10 per cent of our total emissions, rather than the previously estimated 43 per cent.
Regrettably, our Ministry for the Environment’s farm methane policy continues to defend outdated methane metrics. It is crucial for the ministry to base policies on sound science rather than political considerations. To not do so is to continue an exercise in self-flagellation.
Additionally, we propose implementing limits on the conversion of high-quality land to carbon forestry. These limits will be determined through thorough land quality assessments to prevent excessive conversions that could harm rural communities. Farmers will still have the opportunity to plant trees on unsuitable portions of their land and generate additional revenue through the ETS. This approach strikes a balance between diversifying land use and preserving valuable agricultural resources.
Given the global nature of climate change, it is crucial for us to make a meaningful contribution without jeopardizing our economic well-being. We must focus on implementing evidence-based policies that will yield tangible results.
There are those who would rather we do not address emissions at all. I say to them, keeping in step with the rest of the world is our passport to trade.
You can find our policies here: https://www.national.org.nz/plan.