Nearly half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture – methane and nitrous oxide. On a strictly per capita basis, we have the highest methane emissions in the world.

In 2019, as part of the zero-carbon act, targets were set to reduce these biogenic methane emissions by 24 to 27 percent by the year 2050, but now the Government has announced a reduction in those targets to 14 to 24 percent.

Many from the primary industry welcomed this change, while others say these new lower targets will make it harder for New Zealand to meet its climate change obligations andpotentially affect the sector’s trading viability internationally. 

Given the impact these decisions have on the primary sector, the Blue Shed Diary is getting perspectives from two different professors.

Joining the conversation is James Renwick, Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University Wellington and Climate Change Commissioner from 2019 to 2024. Heis one of the voices raising concerns about the Government's latest move.