Foreword - Chair Review Team
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), on behalf of the Convenor of the Ministerial Group on Climate Change, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Primary Industries Council have commissioned Dr John Freney (Honorary Research Fellow CSIRO and an expert on nitrogen in agriculture), Dr Marc Ulyatt (formerly Senior Research Scientist with AgResearch Ltd and an expert in ruminant metabolism and methane emission), and myself to undertake this study. We were asked to review the research that could create opportunities to abate the emissions of agricultural methane and nitrous oxide, and recommend a strategy for future research that could lead to a reduction in these emissions in the long-term.
We were required to comment specifically on:
- The prospects in each area of research for developing practical measures for reducing emissions.
- The identification of the best future opportunities and research priorities in terms of their abatement potential.
- A basis to enable future costing of the research and the institutional arrangements necessary to make progress.
We were required to produce the following outputs:
- A critical analysis of past and current research with the emphasis on the last five years.
- A framework for identifying and prioritising relevant research to maximise abatement opportunities.
- A Workshop (jointly sponsored by MAF and the Australian Greenhouse Office) to consider abatement opportunities involving invited New Zealand, Australian and international scientists, farmers, policy advisers and agricultural industry representatives.
- 4A report on a strategy and priorities for future research based on our review of the research and the conclusions of the Workshop.
The findings of our study are presented in three parts:
- A Strategy and Priorities for Future Research on the Abatement of Agricultural Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions: Conclusions and Recommendations (relates to Output 4).
- An Assessment of the Needs for Research on the Abatement of Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture: A Review of Current and Published Research (relates to Outputs 1 and 2).
- Research Priorities for Abatement of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture: A Summary of the Conclusions of the Workshop (relates to Output 3).
We hope that the results will be seen as a useful basis for moving forward. I thank my colleagues John Freney and Marc Ulyatt for their outstanding contributions, and their forbearance as this report was put to bed.
Peter O'Hara
Chair
Review Team
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