Kiwi farmers need science led methane review

Gretchen
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As Wool Impact advances the measurement of “wool’s impact” we are keeping pace with the conversations across New Zealand’s primary sector. B+LNZ, Dairy NZ and Federated Farmers have been digging into the impact of methane as it relates to New Zealand’s reduction targets:

New Zealand’s methane reduction targets and the burden placed on its farmers have come under scrutiny in a new scientific report conducted by the Universities of Oxford and Cranfield. The study suggests that the country’s goals may be overly ambitious and may require farmers to do more than their fair share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The report highlights that the global understanding of climate change science has significantly progressed since New Zealand’s targets were set in 2019. The research argues for a more equitable distribution of efforts in combating climate change and questions whether farmers are being unfairly burdened with the responsibility and cost of reducing methane emissions compared to other sectors of the economy.

“We need to be taking a science-led approach to the targets and its important they reflect the impact each gas will have on warming.” – Jim van der Poel, Chair of DairyNZ. Find out more here.