Reducing agricultural emissions is a key component of Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to climate change. It will help to ensure that we have sustainable and healthy food and fibre systems for now and in the future.
The Biological Emissions Reduction Science and Mātauranga Plan addresses the urgent need to reduce agriculture emissions and reach Government’s net-zero carbon target for 2050. It outlines a pathway to get new emissions mitigation tools, technologies, and practices into the hands of farmers sooner to reduce agricultural emissions, with a focus on reduction of methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
The Plan was commissioned by the Food and Fibre Partnership Group and forms part of the Fit for a Better World Programme. It was developed in partnership between government, industry, Māori and science and is intended to guide coordinate action and investment towards its outcomes. It draws on New Zealand’s unique dual knowledge of science and mātauranga Māori, recognising that enduring responses to climate change will come through the interplay of both.
The Plan has already been influential – key actions have been included in the Government’s first Emissions Reduction Plan and Budget 2022 invested $338.7 million over four years to accelerate development of high-impact technologies and practices to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, including the establishment of a new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions. The work on the Plan was a critical input to these initiatives.
Biological Emissions Reduction Science and Mātauranga Plan (PDF, 1.6MB)