Climate change is big business in New Zealand. Government and local authorities now have a small army of people employed in the climate change industry paid by our taxes and rates. An even bigger army work as consultants where the pay is better. Its an industry with massive ‘oil tanker’ impetus. Most of their work is predicated on the claim that things are getting worse .. But is this assumption true?

Methane’s warming ability is heavily overstated. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in its latest AR6 report that the way we measure methane emissions in New Zealand overstates their warming ability by a massive 300% to 400%. Secondly, New Zealand’s ruminant methane emissions are falling. New Zealand Statistics say ruminant emissions are down 6.5% since 2005. That is an important achievement when all our other emissions are rising. The “nearly 50%” is just not factual.

Research has shown that selecting for a low methane emitting sheep will breed a smaller animal, with a smaller rumen, that will need to eat more high-quality feed to maintain productivity (Waghorn 2020). Low methane emissions from sheep also has correlations with higher wool weight and lower ewe body condition scores. This not only adds cost via more work but may even lower efficiency and profit from a smaller, potentially skinnier sheep. My question to the “low methane” proponent is: Which productive and low input traits should we compromise?

Regardless of farm type, this method will penalise any system that has slower or lower overall production. This is the case even if it uses less 'undesirable' inputs and naturally matches the land's capability. It is hard to marry up the hypocrisy and inequality in this considering the Government's much politicised and haloed talk around regenerative agriculture (RA). One of the key concepts of RA is to follow the natural grass growth curve, using more solar energy and less fossil fuel to produce food.
So, on one hand the Government recently committed $26 million to research regenerative agriculture in NZ, and on the other they seek to penalise those farms ..

… CO2 that these plants need, originates with that very same grass. When the grass gets eaten the fermentation process in the ruminant’s stomach produces Methane which burps out into the atmosphere. This Methane oxidises into CO2 and water vapour ready to be sucked back into the leaves of the grass to sustain that all important cycle that underpins the all-important industries we are relying on right now to save our economy. It is a part of natural cycle. It has been forever. CO2 in, Methane out, Methane oxides into CO2 and water, CO2 back in again. On and on. No new Methane, no new CO2.