B+LNZ welcomes Simon Upton’s report on ETS impacts

Beef + Lamb NZ board chair Kate Acland has reinforced the organisation's concerns over wholesale land-use change. Photo / Clare Toia-Bailey

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has welcomed a new report that shows current policies, particularly settings under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), are driving a wave of land-use changes to carbon forestry with significant environmental, economic and social risks.

The report, titled Alt-F Reset: Examining the drivers of forestry in New Zealand, was released this week by Simon Upton, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE).

It follows the recent confirmation that what remains of Waipaoa Station and chunks of Matahiia and Katoa stations on the East Coast will be converted into pine plantations.

Beef + Lamb chair Kate Acland said the farmers’ organisation had been “hugely concerned” about wholesale land-use change for a long time and had advocated for action from successive governments.

“The PCE has called this out for what it is – not simply a sheep and beef issue, but a fundamental issue that New Zealand as a country needs to address.

“That said, the impact on our farmers is huge and disproportionate. The total amount of sheep and beef farmland purchased for conversion to forestry between 2017 and 30 June 2024 was more than 260,000 hectares.

“For every 100,000 hectares planted, close to one million stock units are lost. Those lost stock units equate to lost export earnings, but also to significant negative impacts on rural businesses and communities and our iconic farming landscapes.”

While the Government had introduced some limits around entering certain land classes into the ETS, “we still have concerns about the implementation of these limits”, she said.

“We’re already seeing a rush to purchase farms and convert before the new rules come into effect later this year. We are also not sure if the new rules go far enough and will be closely monitoring whole-farm sales and resulting land-use change.”

Based on modelling done by the Climate Change Commission, New Zealand was on track to plant more than 900,000 hectares of forestry between now and 2050, mostly in exotic trees, Acland said.

“That’s a staggering number.

“Although there is merit in the PCE recommendation to phase out or reduce forestry offsets for fossil fuels, B+LNZ is concerned about the PCE’s recommendation of a ‘biogenic methane’ trading scheme and firmly against a price on agricultural emissions, particularly as we’re on track to meet the current targets.

“Our analysis indicates that our sector has already reduced its methane emissions by 10% since 2017 as a result of stock reductions from existing afforestation, with forecast future plantings almost certain to cause further significant stock reductions.

“A price on agricultural emissions or a biogenic methane trading scheme [isn’t] necessary or justified.”