© Federated Farmers of New Zealand
Sheep are fast becoming an endangered species. Each year we lose tens of thousands of hectares of their natural habitat (productive farmland) to pine forestry. From over 70 million sheep in 1982 to fewer than 25 million sheep today, sheep numbers are rapidly plunging.
New Zealand’s climate change policies are badly broken; now food production and the viability of our rural communities are under threat. The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is effectively subsidising pine trees to offset fossil fuel emissions and we're the only country in the world that allows 100% carbon offsetting through forestry. Most other countries have recognised this as a significant risk and have set policies to restrict it.
Climate policy is trumping food production. We’re blindly sacrificing it at the altar of carbon offsetting.
We call on the Government to urgently review the ETS and fix the rules to either limit or stop the offsetting of fossil fuel emissions with forestry.