Greenpeace says the appointment of a former DairyNZ
scientist as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Chief
Science Advisor shows the Government is handing power to
polluters.
“For years, DairyNZ has ignored science and
lobbied to weaken protections for rivers, drinking water,
and the climate,” says Greenpeace campaigner Amanda
Larsson.
“We’re facing a climate and nature crisis.
The dairy industry is New Zealand’s worst environmental
polluter, and science shows we need strong limits on it to
protect the environment and our future. But instead of
taking action to restrict intensive dairy’s pollution,
Luxon is allowing industry lobbyists to sit at key
decision-making tables.”
Larsson warns that the
appointment could further undermine action on climate
change. She says DairyNZ
has led efforts to promote misleading methods for measuring
methane emissions from livestock – methods that downplay
the need for real cuts to climate pollution from intensive
dairy.
Working with Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb,
DairyNZ has pushed for a system called no additional warming
to measure methane emissions. Greenpeace
says this approach isn’t grounded in science and is designed
to justify doing less.
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“These
agri-business-backed tools are based on the flawed premise
that current methane emissions are an acceptable baseline.
But scientists agree that methane emissions are far too high
and we need to reduce them,” says
Larsson.
New Zealand’s independent Climate
Change Commission has already rejected no additional
warming. But the Government sidestepped the Commission
and set up a separate panel to review methane targets using
that same flawed approach. The Government is set to make a
decision on the methane target this year.
“Methane is
a powerful greenhouse gas that heats the planet much faster
than carbon dioxide,” Larsson says. “And here in New
Zealand, livestock methane makes up most of our climate
pollution.”
“At a time where the need to address the
climate crisis is more urgent than ever, we cannot afford
for the Luxon-led Government to elevate the voices of those
who are causing the problem, because the cost will be the
future of life on earth.”
Greenpeace has long raised
concerns about the dairy industry’s influence on Luxon’s
government. Last
year, the group revealed that Federated Farmers had drafted
freshwater policy and communications plans for the
Government, which were subsequently
implemented.
“We’re now seeing the consequences
of polluters running the show,” says
Larsson.
“Weakened freshwater protections are leading
to new dairy conversions, especially in Canterbury and
Southland.
“The dairy industry’s pollution is
already causing unswimmable rivers, unsafe drinking water,
and more climate disasters. This will only get worse as the
few protections we have are rolled back.
“While Luxon
wages a war on nature, people across the country are
stepping up to protect the places they care about. If the
Government won’t stand up to polluters, the people
will.”
