Agricultural Option 8: RMA standards to control agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
Description
This option would seek to control agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through the preparation of a national environmental standard (NES).
Under the RMA, local authorities can control a range of land use activities that affect erosion, water quality, etc. However, they are unable to control land use activities for the explicit purpose of managing greenhouse gas emissions unless the Minister for the Environment has developed an NES specifically to do so.
An NES prepared by the Minister for the Environment can prescribe limits for environmental matters, including the control of greenhouse gases. It can also prescribe methods to control discharges, and can permit and prohibit activities.
As with other measures to reduce emissions, an NES could apply to emissions above a certain level and be phased in over a period of time.
This option could:
- Control inputs into farms, such as limiting livestock numbers or the use of fertilisers, and/or by requiring the use of nitrification inhibitors
- Require farmers to offset greenhouse gas emissions by means such as planting trees.
Control outputs of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide from farms
Advantages
This option:
Increases national compliance as it does not rely on voluntary actions by land users
- Could allow the land user to choose cost-effective practices to comply with a standard based on greenhouse gas emissions
- Need not constrain agricultural production if the standard required offsets
- Would not require additional systems associated with financial incentives or disincentives or tradeable permit regimes
- Might have significant benefits in terms of water quality and soil conservation.
- Could provide certainty to land users if the RMA standard prescribed land management practices
Disadvantages
This option:
- Would involve significant monitoring and enforcement costs. Most of these costs would fall on local government
- Could create uncertainty for land users about compliance with greenhouse gas emissions if output-based standards were used
- Might constrain agricultural production if the standard prescribed land use practices
- Would not encourage land managers to make decisions based on accurate price signals.
- Might conflict with existing district and regional plans (which usually allow pastoral farming as a permitted activity) and might be seen to unfairly constrain the use of land
Implementation issues
The issues that would need to be addressed prior to implementation of both Option 8 or Option 9 include:
- How to administer, monitor and enforce the regime
- The selection of an NES to control farm practices, greenhouse gas emissions directly, or by requiring offsets, and whether to include wider environmental impacts
- If an NES was to control greenhouse gases directly, there would be significant issues in measuring farm-based emissions
- The development of clear, effective and enforceable rules
- Communication of legal requirements of the NES to land users and local government
- Arrangements with local government covering monitoring and enforcement.
- The need to weigh up the costs and benefits of other options as required by the RMA
- Options focusing on land use change from forestry to agriculture
Agricultural Option 9: RMA standards to control new agricultural land use after deforestation
Description
This option would seek to prepare an NES covering increased greenhouse gas emissions following land use change from forestry to agriculture. It would apply only to new agricultural land uses following deforestation rather than to existing agricultural land. It could:
- Control increased agricultural greenhouse gas emissions following deforestation (compared to emissions from previous forested land)
- Both the controls above could be implemented by:
- Controlling inputs into farms ie. limiting livestock numbers, limiting the use of nitrogen fertilisers, and/or requiring the use of nitrification inhibitors
- Controlling outputs of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide from farms
- Prohibiting certain new agricultural land uses associated with high greenhouse gas emissions.
- As with other measures to reduce emissions, an NES could apply to emissions above a certain level and be phased in over time.
- Control all environmental effects associated with agriculture following deforestation, including increased greenhouse gas emissions, water quality etc.
Advantages
This option:
- Has similar advantages to Agricultural Option 8.
- Would avoid conflicting land use, water quality and climate change policies if it comprehensively addressed all environmental effects.
- Would be clearly understood if it prohibited certain land uses following deforestation
Disadvantages
This option:
- Has similar disadvantages to those in Agricultural Option 8.
- Could potentially come into conflict with measures in other government programmes, e.g. the Sustainable Water Programme of Action.
- Implementation issues are discussed under Agricultural Option 8.
- Would be complex and could interfere with existing district and regional plans if it were to comprehensively address all environmental effects of agriculture
Agricultural Option 10: Charge where deforested land is used for agriculture
Description
This option could be used in conjunction with the simple flat charge option for deforestation (see Deforestation Option 1), under which all parties would pay a charge if they deforested. Under this ‘add-on’ option, an additional charge would be levied to take account of the ongoing agricultural emissions expected to occur if the land was used for agriculture.
The charge would be set at an agreed rate per tonne of carbon dioxide
equivalent and levied on the total level of carbon dioxide equivalents expected
to be released over an agreed period of time (such as the first Kyoto
Commitment Period). The charge would be levied only once:
at the time of, or soon after, the date that the land was converted to
agricultural use.
Advantages
Landowners would be encouraged to consider the greenhouse gas emissions likely to result from the different possible land uses open to them after deforestation. In doing so, this option would have the benefit of better integrating forest and agriculture sector policies for the pre-2012 period. This is because it would send a signal both on the decision to deforest and on the subsequent decision whether or not to introduce a greenhouse gas-emitting agricultural use.
Disadvantages
There are costs and practical difficulties with measuring the agricultural emissions over the relevant period, meaning the Government would need to estimate the likely emissions over a number of years.
This option would not take into account the greenhouse gas emissions arising from non-agricultural land uses.
Implementation issues
The design issues that would need to be addressed prior to implementation of this option include:
- How to determine the level of charge
- Whether the charge would be a one-off payment, or whether it would be made in instalment, such as annually, or for a set period
- Whether a charge should be implemented after deforestation for any emissions-emitting agricultural use (e.g. cropping and horticulture), not just animal husbandry.
Questions: Agricultural options
Please record your answers in the submissions pages at the back of this publication, or file online at www.maf.govt.nz/climatechange
17. Are there other options for addressing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions you would like to put forward?
18. If you had to make one choice out of Options 5, 6, 7 and 8, which would be your first preference?
19. If you had to make one choice out of Options 9 and 10, which would be your first preference?
20. Please rank the agriculture options presented in terms of your preferences.
21. Additional comments: you may like to comment on the reasons for your choice of options or on the design detail of how the options might best be implemented.
Contact for Enquiries
Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
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