New Zealand wants to tax emissions from its livestock

Herd of dairy cows in the central plateau region of New Zealand © RFI/Richard Tindiller

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To fight against global warming, New Zealand, a major agricultural country, is proposing to tax greenhouse gas emissions from livestock.

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With this measure, the authorities of this country of 5 million inhabitants want to tackle one of the main sources of pollution: agricultural methane.

It would also allow them to avoid having to join

.

If the levy on sheep and cattle manure is introduced by 2025, as planned,

would be the first country to charge its farmers for methane emissions from their livestock, according to the New Zealand Ministry of the Environment.

Called the "He Waka Eke Noa", this partnership between agricultural leaders and the government proposes that farmers calculate their methane emissions on an individual basis, and not based on national averages.

The tax is estimated at 7 cents per kilogram of methane over the next three years.

A way to control the amount of this tax and encourage farmers to pollute less.

But the tax would have to reach 40 cents per kilogram for New Zealand's emissions reduction targets to be met.

A cost that would weigh too heavily on the profitability of the sector.

New Zealand has around 26 million sheep and 10 million cattle and half of its greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock.

Yet the agricultural sector is not part of the country's extensive emissions trading system (ETS).

He is also widely criticized for this.

►Also listen: Grand Reportage - New Zealand: the dairy of the world

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