Terms used in this document

This discussion document makes frequent reference to the following terms. Further terms are defined in the glossary.

Climate change

A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.

Greenhouse gases and global warming

Greenhouse gases, both natural and human-induced, absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, leading to what is commonly known as the ‘greenhouse’ effect which in turn causes a heating of the earth’s atmosphere (commonly referred to as ‘global warming’). See Annex 4 for a fuller description.

The greenhouse gases covered by the emission limitation commitments of the international Kyoto Protocol are:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) created from the burning of fossil fuels, burning and/or breakdown of plant matter, and some industrial processes
Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emitted from soils enhanced by clovers and nitrogen fertiliser
Synthetic gases used in some industrial processes; these include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)

Methane (CH₄) from farm animals, rice paddies and waste

Almost 50 percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are made up of methane and nitrous oxide, the two gases most closely associated with farming. As a greenhouse gas, methane is 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Protocol sets legally binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions for all countries that have ratified the agreement and are listed in its Annex B. Each country has agreed to a target for greenhouse gas reductions averaged over the five years of the Protocol’s first Commitment Period, from 2008-12. New Zealand’s target is to return to the level of greenhouse gas emissions it was producing in 1990, or take responsibility for any excess emissions.

Land management/land management sectors

This discussion document deals specifically with how the land is managed on-farm and in-forests. It does not deal with transport and manufacturing operations in the agricultural and forestry sectors. Land management sectors include pastoral and arable farming, horticulture and forestry.

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