Greenpeace has welcomed key parts of the Climate Change Commission’s report, but says the ambition falls short of what could be called \u201ctransformational\u201d and continues a long tradition of giving the dairy industry a \u201cfree pass to pollute\u201d. <\/p>\n\n
The report details key recommendations that New Zealand will need to take in order to reduce emissions and tackle the climate crisis. <\/p>\n\n
But Greenpeace senior campaigner Steve Abel says the Commission\u2019s recommendations for cutting climate pollution from agriculture, which is responsible for half of New Zealand\u2019s emissions, fall short.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe Climate Change Commission\u2019s draft plan seems more anxious about maintaining the status quo than biting the bullet in the existential crisis of our time. It effectively says \u2018We can only save the planet so long as we don\u2019t have to produce one kilo less milk or meat by 2035\u2019. That ain\u2019t transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe recommendations are still stuck on price and market tools, tinkering, sending messages, researching, \u201cbreeding and feeding,\u201d and industry tech-fixes instead of calling for active specific regulation that cuts synthetic nitrogen, gets rid of imported feed like palm kernel expeller, and significantly reduces cow numbers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Abel says the Climate Commission has also relied on not-yet-developed technology – like a possible methane vaccine – for cutting agricultural emissions after 2035. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cHoping and praying for future fictional tech-fixes, as if a fairy godmother is going to flutter down and magic this away, is not science fact – it’s science fiction.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe fact is we know that reduction in stocking rates and phasing out synthetic nitrogen will cut agricultural emissions while improving water quality, animal welfare and farm-gate profits in the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace is calling for the Government to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser – one of the key drivers of industrial dairying – as well as phasing out imported feed like PKE, and investing $1billion to aid farmers in transitioning to regenerative farming. <\/p>\n\n
Abel praised the Commission\u2019s recommendations on native forests, saying it\u2019s great that the Commission has acknowledged that we need permanent native forests to draw in and lock away carbon. He also welcomed the recommendation to end coal use in food processing, such as drying milk powder.<\/p>\n\n
But Abel says the report feels like too little too late.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known for 30 years what needs to be done to tackle climate change. The Climate Change Commission\u2019s report tells us nothing new. We still just need to cut dirty energy and switch to regenerative land use. Same as the scientists told us we needed to be doing 30 years ago and for every year since.
\u201cThe real test of this report is not what the budgets are but what the action is. The Government\u2019s response, due in November, must not be yet another excuse for yet another year\u2019s delay in doing what we\u2019ve known we needed to do for 30 years already.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
ENDS<\/p>\n\t\t\t Call on Christopher Luxon to set up a billion dollar fund to transition New Zealand away from industrial to regenerative agriculture.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Greenpeace has welcomed key parts of the Climate Change Commission’s report, but says the ambition falls short of what could be called \u201ctransformational\u201d and continues a long tradition of giving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":14099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"NZ\u2019s dirtiest industry - dairy - gets the biggest free pass in draft climate plan,","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[16,19],"p4-page-type":[7],"class_list":["post-15445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-climate","tag-food-and-farming","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n