Emission reduction

When we were pastoral farming, we emitted about 2000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide equivalent. At a price of $30/tonne, simply by ceasing to pastoral farm we have saved someone, the NZ Government under the Kyoto agreement, about $60,000/annum. That is the environmental cost, as reckoned by the free market, of us producing our meat and wool.

At the moment, for political reasons the Government seems to be planning for the taxpayer to pick up these costs. In our opinion the taxpayer seems happy to pay this subsidy only because they, as yet, don’t know that they are, a situation that is not likely to last. When that happens the environmental costs are likely to be charged directly to farmers probably by way of a carbon tax. There does not seem to be any rational reason as to why the taxpayer should subsidise pastoral farming in the long term.

At present we do not receive any income from our emission reductions and neither do we think we should. Our preference is for the costs to fall where they lie so business can make appropriate market driven decisions. Never the less if the present subsisdised situation was to continue then we must have a good case to receive something.