Kate Acland: Beef and Lamb NZ Chair talks changes in methane reduction targets

Beef and Lamb's declaring methane target cuts, great news for New Zealand. 

The Government's reducing targets to 14 to 24-percent below 2017 levels. 

That's between 24 to 47-percent lower than previous targets. 

Beef & Lamb Chair Kate Acland told Ryan Bridge the Government's right to say a number of farmers would have been put out of business without this change. 

She says the new targets are in line with what the rest of the world is doing, with most countries also looking to incentivise not penalise.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Governments cut methane reduction targets. They say it's science based.
The range is now fourteen to twenty four percent below
twenty seventeen levels by twenty fifty. A lot of numbers
in there. Fourteen to twenty four is the one you
need to remember. It was twenty four to forty seven
percent reduction, so the upper ends basically have Kate Ackland,
is chair at Beef and named New Zealand, joins me. Now,

(00:21):
I morning, Kate, morning, right, good to have you on
the show. Now, the government, you say, said we would
have had farms shutting down, farmers going out of business
if we had kept the old targets. Is that overblowing
it or is that true in how many No.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Look, that's absolutely true. So you know, modeling suggested under
what was previously proposed, we were looking at about twenty
percent of our sheep and beef farms and I think
about six or seven percent of our dairy farms would
need to shut down to meet those targets, and even
then it would be a stretch. So look, this is
this is great news for farming, it's great news for

(00:57):
New Zealand. Actually, you know there's a science based target
on the impact of warming. It's agriculture doing its peace,
but it's still maintaining what's a really important industry for
New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
What's the bigger impact here the fact that there's no
ets or that there is a reduction in the target.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Look, I think both. I mean the threat of a
tax on emissions or you know, a tax on emissions
from food production is something that's been hanging over farmers
for a number of years and it's been sucking a
lot of confidence out of the rural sector. So I
think giving farmers sort of confidence and that you know,
they're not going to face that price, that they can
invest in their businesses and grow their businesses and you know,

(01:39):
improve things and spend money in their local communities, that's
a really positive thing. The reduction in targets, of course,
is you know, that's something we've been calling for for
a long time, so that's also really positive.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Ok.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Does it risk This is what labors come out and
said overnight. Does it risk our UK EU markets? You
know they have strong time pledges in them. Do you
worry as farmers that you will actually you know, cut
your nose off to spite your face?

Speaker 3 (02:08):
No? Look, absolutely not. We still have our international commitments.
What we do in New Zealand is a different thing. Actually,
what the targets the government's put in place are in
line with what most of the rest of the world
is doing. So almost every other country in the world
is not looking to tax or penalize farmers. That's actually

(02:29):
looking to incentivize farmers. It's got targets that you know,
a lot of the rest of the world has targets
that are in line with what New Zealand's proposed. So
what this, you know, what yesterday's announcement has done is
it's actually bought New Zealand in line with most of
the rest of the world.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Do most farmers back the Paris Agreement or do they
want out?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Look, there's quite a mixed feel out there. And you know,
ultimately we are a trading nation and most farmers realize
that our trading relationships are critical.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
What's the deal with on Terra is having the Fonterra
but also you know silverfurned farms. They all have their
own targets, their own goals. From what I could see,
Fonterras was actually far more ambitious than this one. How
does that change now that the government's target changes. Do
you think these big companies change their targets too, and

(03:19):
then that has an effect on farmers or what.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Look, what these commercial companies do is entirely up to them,
and you know, there's nothing to stop them having targets.
If I've got customers or markets that have higher ambition
and they want to reward farmers to meet those, then
that's a great thing. And that can be quite separate
from what is a legislative target. So you know, both
can happen, and I think what we may start to

(03:45):
see as we may start to see these companies rewarding
farmers if they have specific customers that are wanting those
really lower mission product.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Appreciate your time, Kate Ackland, chair of Beef and Land
New Zealand. For more family addition with Ryan Bridge, listen
live to news talks. It'd be from five am weekdays,
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