It is widely accepted that around 50 per cent of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions are from livestock, mostly in the form of methane and carbon dioxide.
Jacinda Ardern promises that a Labour government, under her leadership, would make farmers pay their fair share.
When defining that fair share, the figure that needs to be used is not the quantum of the emissions, rather the net emissions after accounting for uptake. Ask the question, where do cattle get their emissions from, and a different picture arises.
When looking at this question, an overriding fact must be considered. The law of thermodynamics states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Modified, yes, created or destroyed, no.
Ruminant livestock get the emitted gasses from what they eat. In New Zealand in the main that is pasture. Photosynthesis, which uses carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to generate plant growth, is part of what is known as the carbon cycle, and it is closed.