Fonterra Calls For Changes to ETS
May 14th, 2008
Fonterra’s CEO Andrew Ferrier says the world’s greenhouse gas emissions could potentially increase, along with the revenues of offshore dairy competitors, if NZ’s emissions trading scheme is not amended. In the dairy co-operative’s submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee hearings on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill Ferrier says “NZ is one of the most greenhouse gas efficient dairy producers in the world. If we have more constraints put on existing dairy production or growth of our production in NZ, other countries will fill the supply gap. These other countries are likely to be less carbon efficient than us and so more emissions would be pumped into the atmosphere as a result. Not only does this defeat the purpose of the ETS, but it comes at a real cost to NZ’s number one industry, which flows on to a national economic impact of around $2.7bn.”
Ferrier told the Committee Fonterra totally supports NZ’s efforts to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and describes the ETS as a pragmatic solution to the country’s Kyoto Protocol commitments. “However, given NZ is leading the world with this policy, we need to ensure the detail is driving the right behaviour to reduce emissions at every level. And for farmers this means giving them the ability to manage their own farm’s emissions and be rewarded for doing so.”
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