Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Apr 21, 2025

Climate change: New Zealand's plan to tax cow and sheep burps

Climate change: New Zealand's plan to tax cow and sheep burps

New Zealand has unveiled a plan to tax sheep and cattle burps in a bid to tackle one of the country's biggest sources of greenhouse gases.

It would make it the first nation to charge farmers for the methane emissions from the animals they keep.

New Zealand is home to just over five million people, along with around 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep.

Almost half the country's total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane.

However, agricultural emissions have previously not been included in New Zealand's emissions trading scheme, which has been criticised by those calling for the government to do more to stop global warming.

"There is no question that we need to cut the amount of methane we are putting into the atmosphere, and an effective emissions pricing system for agriculture will play a key part in how we achieve that," New Zealand's climate change minister James Shaw said.

Under the proposal farmers will have to pay for their gas emissions from 2025.

The plan also includes incentives for farmers who reduce emissions through feed additives, while planting trees on farms could be used to offset emissions.

Andrew Hoggard - who is a dairy farmer and the national president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand - told the BBC that he broadly approved of the proposals.

"We've been working with the government and other organisations on this for years to get an approach that won't shut down farming in New Zealand, so we've signed off on a lot of stuff we're happy with."

"But you know, like all of these types of agreements with many parties involved, there's always going to be a couple of dead rats you have to swallow," he added.

Mr Hoggard also highlighted that the fine details of the plan's rollout have not yet been agreed.

"There are still the nuts and bolts to be hammered out, like who actually implements the scheme, so there's still stuff to work through with the government."

The money raised from the scheme will be invested in research, development and advisory services for farmers, the country's environment ministry said.

Last month, New Zealand's finance minister committed NZ$2.9bn (£1.5bn; $1.9bn) for initiatives to tackle climate change, which would be funded by an emissions trading system that taxed polluters.

Meanwhile on Thursday, investors managing $14tn of assets urged the United Nations to create a global plan to make the agriculture sector sustainable.

In a letter to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation's director-general - which was first reported by the Reuters news agency - the FAIRR Initiative said the agency was best-placed to take the lead on creating a road-map to curb one of the biggest sources of climate damaging emissions.

Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2).

It is one of the most potent and responsible for a third of current warming from human activities. Individual methane molecules have a more powerful warming effect on the atmosphere than single CO2 molecules.

At last year's COP26 environmental conference in Glasgow the US and the EU agreed to cut emissions of the gas by 30% by 2030. More than 100 countries, including New Zealand, have also signed up to the initiative.


How is methane emitted?


Around 40% of CH4 comes from natural sources such as wetlands but the bigger share now comes from a range of human activities, ranging from agriculture, such as cattle and rice production, to rubbish dumps.


One of the biggest sources is from the production, transport and use of natural gas and since 2008 there has been a big spike in methane emissions, which researchers believe is linked to the boom in fracking for gas in parts of the US.

In 2019, methane in the atmosphere reached record levels, around two-and-a-half times above what they were in the pre-industrial era.

What worries scientists is that methane has real muscle when it comes to heating the planet. Over a 100-year period it is 28-34 times as warming as CO2.

Over a 20-year period it is around 84 times as powerful per unit of mass as carbon dioxide.

However, there is much more CO2 than methane in the atmosphere and individual molecules of it can remain there for hundreds of years.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Andrew Joins Royal Family Attends Easter Sunday Service at Windsor Castle
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
Trump is assembling a coalition of Western leaders aligned with the MAGA vision, strengthening a unified front for global change
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Here’s a police officer with a brilliant gift for swift education
"Some complain that we put thousands in prison. In reality, we set millions free."
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
×