New Zealand’s government has proposed a tax on livestock to combat greenhouse gas emissions and work toward the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.
Part of the plan to be carbon neutral calls for emissions from livestock to be reduced by 10% by 2030 and up to 47% by 2050. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would put the money collected from the proposed levy back into the industry to fund new technology, research and incentive payments for farmers.
According to The Associated Press, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor hailed the proposal and stated, “Taking the lead on agricultural emissions is both good for the environment and our economy.”
Federated Farmers, a rural advocacy organization for farmers, condemned the plan and said it would “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand,” resulting in farms being replaced with trees. Federated Farmers National President Andrew Hoggard said farmers had been working with the government for more than two years on an emissions reduction plan that wouldn’t decrease food production.
An earlier attempt to tax livestock was proposed in 2003, and the government abandoned the project.
