Federated Farmers is calling for the emissions trading scheme to either be scrapped or substantially amended.
In a submission presented earlier this week to the select committee reviewing the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Federated Farmers president Don Nicholson said New Zealand did not need an ETS to meet its Kyoto obligations.
Federated Farmers favoured a repeal of the ETS and the introduction of non-punitive policy measures to transform New Zealand into a low-carbon economy. Federated Farmers suggested interim solutions might include: - Government-funded forest plantings via land-leasing regimes, land purchases or other partnership arrangements. This would not only develop permanent forestry sinks but also generate employment opportunities.
- A low-level carbon charge set at a rate that recovers just enough revenue to account for any emissions deficit. - Government purchasing of the cheapest Kyoto emissions units available to meet New Zealand's future liabilities, until the Kyoto Protocol lapses in 2012.
- Take an international lead by advocating for each country to allocate a percentage of GDP towards climate-change initiatives. - Non-compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, akin to the Canadian Government's approach.
The second option put forward by Federated Farmers was a substantial re-write of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act. This would exclude primary food production and introduce economic tests to balance the scheme's present punitive nature, Mr Nicolson said.
‘‘The primary production of food has no place in any emissions trading scheme,'' Mr Nicolson said.
Denmark had specifically excluded the primary production of food from its Kyoto response, he said.