KEY POINTS:
The Government should give businesses more help with measuring their "carbon footprint" so they can prove their environmental credentials to the world, the Green Party says.
Britain's largest supermarket chain, Tesco, last month said it would put aeroplane symbols on all goods imported by air, reigniting the food miles debate. Air transport is one of the most carbon-intensive forms of transport.
New Zealand producers say any labelling should take in the entire carbon emitted in the creation of a product, not just its transport costs.
Tesco says it will eventually move to labels displaying a product's full carbon footprint, but such a system would be complex and could take several years to develop.
Trade Minister Phil Goff said Tesco's aeroplane labelling would have little impact on New Zealand exports, as most were of food and drinks - 99.75 per cent of which were shipped.
But Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said: "A Government that wants to be carbon neutral should be in there with business helping them do their carbon accounting so they can prove to the world how much carbon they are actually emitting."
There were agreed mechanisms for measuring carbon under the Kyoto Protocol and the Government could be doing more to make resources and tools available to businesses.
She said the Government and businesses needed to accept that "carbon accounting" would become increasingly important to environment-conscious consumers in the next few years.
Mr Goff said many of New Zealand's primary industries were low carbon polluters by world standards.
Lincoln University studies had shown lamb produced in New Zealand and shipped to Britain used about a quarter of the energy the British used to produce and freight their lamb to local supermarkets.
New Zealand dairy products used about half the energy of British counterparts, while onions and apples also used less.
Tesco's ultimate plan to display the entire carbon footprint of a product to consumers would benefit New Zealand, he said. But New Zealand remained against the concept of food miles, which was far too narrow.
Mr Goff said the Government was continuing to raise the issue with its European counterparts.
Tesco's plans include limiting the amount of produce airfreighted to 1 per cent from 3 per cent and cutting emissions from existing stores worldwide by half by 2020.
- NZPA
