Dairy Action Plan a small step forward

14 June 2017

 

The Government's dairy climate announcement is a small step in the right direction but lacks a serious commitment to actually reducing climate damaging pollution from the dairy industry, the Green Party said today.

“Paula Bennett should have used today to set a firm date for when the dairy industry will need to start paying for the pollution it emits, just like other businesses have to in New Zealand,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“Instead, she announced a framework without real targets and called it a "Dairy Action Plan".

“There are some good initiatives in this package, like the trial of on-farm recording, but National still hasn’t given farmers any certainty about when they will have to start paying for and reducing climate pollution on the farm.

“No farmer wants their child to inherit a world with longer droughts, and chronic water shortages. Farmers want leadership from government and a real commitment to pollution cuts.

“More and more farmers know that it's possible to both reduce climate pollution and boost profits on the farm, but they’re being let down by a government that's more interested in pushing pollution-intensive dairying.

"The dairy sector accounts for over half of agricultural climate pollution, and that pollution has increased by a whopping 68 percent since National came into government," said Mr Shaw.

Latest Climate Change Announcements

Story

Come on National, is that the best you can do?

A visionless National Party has stolen Government policy and rebranded it as their own.
Read More

Story

IPCC report shows 2023 is a ‘now or never’ climate election

“This is it; 2023 will be the last opportunity New Zealand has to get a government that will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it dem...
Read More

Story

Greens back School Strike demands

The Green Party backs the demands of the School Strike for Climate.
Read More

Story

Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidy

The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a clima...
Read More

Story

Green Party backs School Strike demands

The Green Party backs the demands of the School Strike for Climate.
Read More

Story

Big emitters will have to do more to cut emissions

The biggest polluters will have to do more to help meet climate targets because of changes the Government is making to decade-old settings that hav...
Read More

Latest Primary Industries Announcements

Petition

Take action to protect our oceans

We’re taking the health of our oceans seriously and our Thriving Oceans Plan sets out exactly how the Green Party will protect them so we all can e...
TAKE ACTION

Thriving Oceans

Oceans are the lifeblood of our planet and home to thousands of taonga species, providing us with nourishing food to feed our families, supporting...
Read More

Farming for the Future

Here in Aotearoa, we can have a thriving and sustainable farming sector that is good for farmers, good for people, and good for the planet. By mak...
Read More

Petition

Supporting farmers to be part of the solution

Our farmers are already leading the way toward climate-friendly agriculture - but governments must support them to go further, faster.   The Green ...
SIGN ON

Policy

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Policy

The Green Party will support the agricultural sector through a just transition to reduce its emissions, minimise harmful inputs and practices, rege...
See More

Policy

Forestry Policy

The Green Party will support a viable, innovative and stable forestry industry and ensure plantation forests are managed and harvested in alignment...
See More