New Zealand has the ability to be one of the best food producing nations and has the reputation of having the most environmentally sound methods of production around the globe.
We should be taking this opportunity to both help feed the world and to balance our books after the effects of the global Covid 19 pandemic, so why is our government pushing so hard to reduce our carbon footprint, to the point where it will affect our ability to maximise food production across the agricultural sectors?
It must be an Ideological decision as there is no other rational explanation for it. We have the most environmentally sound production methods of farming in the developed world and based on this our total effect on the global greenhouse gas emissions in relation to food production is minimal.
The decisions the government are making to try to reduce our carbon footprint will only result in the agricultural production being shifted offshore to other countries where the environmental effects will be much greater than here in New Zealand.
Yes we do need to do our bit to try to combat climate change, but not at the expense of food production. As the Paris Accord sets out in Article 2 (b):
The aim of the agreement, is to have a stronger response to the danger of climate change; it seeks to enhance the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through:
(a) Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change;
(b) Increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development,
in a manner that does not threaten food production;
(c) Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
Even given the above it seems that our hard-left government is still apparently intent on destroying the productivity of our agricultural sectors with more rules and regulations that are not fit for purpose and which will only take away some of the security from our ability to produce food.