In response to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report “Climate change and Agriculture: Understanding biological greenhouse gases”, Greenpeace Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner Genevieve Toop said:

“This report confirms that expanding industrial agriculture and meeting our international climate commitments are not compatible. We need systemic change in the way we farm.

“The PCE states the obvious – more cows mean more emissions, and as such the last thing we should be doing is ushering in a new wave of industrial dairying via large scale irrigation schemes.

“The report also confirms that waiting on techno fixes is not an option. Luckily there’s a proven, profitable and eminently sustainable alternative ready to go – ecological farming. Switching to eco-farming would not only reduce emissions, but also protect our soil and water. Hopefully the ECE’s report will spur focus on and investment in this area.

“New Zealand is not hamstrung over agricultural emissions. There’s plenty we can do. It’s just not what we’ve always done.”

The report can be downloaded here.

ENDS