RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A total of around five million people live in the island nation of New Zealand. However, the cattle breeders there keep about 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep.
While the sheep are particularly needed for consumption and the production of wool, the cows are used for the production of meat and meat products and milk and dairy products.
However, since cattle and sheep are equally considered producers of so-called “climate gases” (CO2, but especially methane), the New Zealand government now wants to impose a climate tax on the keeping of these animals.
According to the BBC, New Zealand Climate Change Minister James Shaw said, “There’s no question that we need to reduce the amount of methane we’re putting into the atmosphere, and an effective system of pricing agricultural emissions will play a key role in how we do that.”
New Zealand plans to tax sheep and cattle burps to tackle one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases, charging farmers for the methane emissions from the animals they keep. Half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions come from farmshttps://t.co/OMkIMj2bF5
— Alfons López Tena 🦇 (@alfonslopeztena) June 9, 2022
According to the report, the proposed legislation would require farmers to pay for their livestock’s gas emissions beginning in 2025. In addition, this plan also includes incentives for farmers who reduce emissions through feed additives, while planting trees on farms could be used to offset emissions.
In other words, an extremely bureaucratic process will not only cost ranchers a lot of money but also create additional work.
According to the state’s Environment Ministry, the new climate tax will invest in research, development, and extension services for farmers.
So, in the end, this will make beef and lamb, as well as dairy products and wool from New Zealand, even more expensive, but without leading to effective, long-term measures that support the government’s so-called climate change plans.
#Gravitas | New Zealand is planning to cut down on methane emission by taxing farmers for cow burps.
Did you know a cow can emit up to 130 gallons of methane daily by burping?
NZ has 10 mn cows, twice the number of its citizens.
But will taxing burps help?
Listen in to @palkisu pic.twitter.com/ztDiAUGr7a— WION (@WIONews) June 9, 2022
There have already been proposals to levy a climate tax on meat to reduce consumption (and thus production). However, it is only a matter of time before other countries – especially in Europe – adopt and implement such ideas. With corresponding consequences for food prices, of course.
For example, it has already been demanded that 60 euros be added to such a climate tax for each ton of CO2 produced in milk and meat production. This would reduce meat consumption by 15 percent.