Adrian Macey: Victoria University Adjunct Professor of Climate Change on the report proposing an end to carbon farming

A climate professor says forestry isn't the answer to climate change. 

It comes after Parliament's environment watchdog released a report proposing completely removing the ability of carbon polluters to rely on planting trees to meet their climate obligations, instead of cutting their emissions.  

Victoria University Adjunct Professor of Climate Change Adrian Macey told Mike Hosking we need a more comprehensive approach to tackling climate change. 

He says planting trees simply isn't good enough. 

Macey says planting trees isn't a 'get out of jail free' card, but rather a suspended sentence. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More ankst around the planting of trees to help offset
our global emissions. Now Parliament's environment watchdog. This is Simon Upton.
You might remember the name from health years ago anyway.
In a new report he warns is only ten to
fifteen years left if changes aren't made. Basically is gunning
for carbon farming completely Removing the ability of plant trees
for credits is being proposed. Adjunct professor at the New
Zealand Climate Change Receipts Institute, Adrian Macy's backward. This is

(00:21):
Adrian morning to you. Does he have a point or
is he dreaming? Now?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
He is a point? He does. Yeah, this is in
my view, this is a great report. It's a real
wake up corps gousa cliche.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Is anyone going to listen to it?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Though?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Because planting trees are super easy and that's why we
planted so many.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well yeah, we've always seen that as a well well,
I say, successive government seen it as a get out
of jail free card member labeled it's a billion trees.
But in say, I would say, if you want to
use a metaphor, it's never been a get out of
jail free car. At the very most I'd see it
as a sort of suspended sentence, but you're going to
be recalled for jail a few years down the track,

(01:03):
so I think it's a very useful wake up. But
what he's actually saying is, for goodness sake, just just
have a proper look at this policy, not just from
the climate change point of view, where there's a lot
of skepticism about using trees to mop up carbon. So
go too, I'm talking about and have a look at
the pology is a massive issue for Zealand as a whole,
and I think it's very It's written in very plain

(01:23):
language for a report. I mean, it's much clearer than
anything you get out of governments, and he's done a
marvelous job because an ordinary average person could read that report,
even just for summary and see what's going on, which
I would say probably if you asked, if you ask
people to explain New Zealand's current policies around forestry, probably
could count on things. On one hand, any want to

(01:44):
give you a coherent explanation that's been all over the
place for years.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
That is true. The current government is looking at planting
more trees on public land or conservation land by private entities.
So they're going against Simon's tide.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well yes, currently, but I mean what he's saying is,
what he's really saying was is don't leave forestry in
the hands of climate policy people, because forest has got
so many applications for the whole of New Zealand, social implications,
economic implications, environmental land use, the future of local communities.
He has he has developed an idea which he's worked

(02:21):
on before, about using about seeing forest is more appropriate
for offsetting methane. Now, the reason for that is that
methane has not long lived, where a co two lives forever.
That I think is he could be useful for our
farming sector in the end. But the main message I
think is seeing all dimensions of forestry policy get your
act together. I mean this big issues coming for MARI too.

(02:44):
There's a big treat the White Eggi Tribunal inquiry where
currently our climate change where forestry has got a big
role to play. So that's it's going to be something
coming out of that too. I think it's going to
be relevant ya. It's just it's a call to be
to be coherent I think, and sensible and really by
the ball on the climate stuff.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Good stuff. I dream. Appreciate your insight. I dream. I
cy ajan professor at the New Zealand Climate Change recearch
Institute and interesting of course. Simon Upton, if you remember
him from the Health dis is a net a conservative
of course, so he speaks a slightly different a liberal.
He's a net of old if you want to put
some polem political labels around it.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
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