Agricultural Emissions Mitigation in New Zealand: Answers to Questions from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

Farmers change slowly     
Avoid pain with clear signals     
Research; replace cows.     

This paper explores how New Zealand should address agricultural greenhouse gas emissions: methane and nitrous oxide. The starting point is the internationally agreed-upon goal of limiting global warming to below two degrees, and New Zealand’s commitment to contribute its ‘fair share’ to the international climate-change mitigation effort. The report focuses on the role of mitigating biological agricultural emissions within that, and how New Zealand could most cost-effectively mitigate its own emissions and contribute to the mitigation of agricultural emissions abroad. 

This paper complements a partner paper (Hollis et al 2015) that discusses the science relating to agricultural greenhouse gases. The paper was designed to respond to questions posed by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's report is here.