New Zealand unveiled a proposal Wednesday to put a price on methane from belching sheep and cattle, a plan that, if enacted, would make the country the first to compel farmers to pay for livestock emissions.
New Zealand unveiled a proposal Wednesday to put a price on methane from belching sheep and cattle, a plan that, if enacted, would make the country the first to compel farmers to pay for livestock emissions.
In New Zealand, where sheep outnumber people five to one, agriculture accounts for nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions. But thus far, agriculture has been exempt from the country’s carbon trading scheme. Under the new proposal, farmers would pay for emissions starting in 2025, with revenue going to research, development, and advisory services for agriculture, Reuters reported.
“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,” Climate Change Minister James Shaw said in a statement.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
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