ETS legislation will increase costs for Kiwis

Thursday, 30 January 2020

DairyNZ General Manager for Responsible Dairy Jenny Cameron is urging Parliament’s Environment Select Committee to carefully consider the implications ETS legislation could have on farms, families and communities and how they manage the impact of the transition to a low-emissions economy.

“We believe that the move to auctioning alongside the removal of the existing price cap is likely to result in a significant expansion to the revenue generated by the ETS and drive up costs” Ms Cameron said.

“The Bill could see emissions prices rise to $50 per tonne, which would mean emissions trading may be adding 14c to each litre of petrol and increasing power bills by up to 20%.

“While New Zealand farmers are not included in the ETS for their biological emissions, they are still included in the ETS for their emissions on things like power and fuel just like the rest of the country.

“We estimate that a $50 carbon price would cost your average dairy farmer around $17,000 each year in emissions trading costs.

DairyNZ made these points to Parliament’s Environment Select Committee this afternoon while advocating on behalf of dairy farmers.

“Dairy farmers are willing to play their part alongside the rest of New Zealand, who will also face rising costs, but we think it’s really important that there is certainty as to where this money is going and what it is being used for.

“Last year the Government collected $420m from emissions trading with the money going into the general crown account, and we estimate that over the next five years the Government could collect a total of $7b from emission trading.

“To offer some context, this is the same amount of money that the Government committed in their infrastructure announcement earlier this week.

“This is a significant amount of money and the Bill doesn’t include any direction or discussion about how the money will be spent or how it will reduce emissions.

“New Zealand dairy farmers are already the most emissions efficient in the world and with the right support and investment we are confident we can continue to improve and cement our position as global leaders,” Ms Cameron concluded.

ENDS

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