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Source: Sunday -
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The hints from John Key in New York overnight about the
potential for New Zealand to
lead research into cutting greenhouse gases from
agriculture and other food production is a huge opportunity for
this country and seems to signal a change in tune from the
government.
The Prime Minister says his government is working to create a
Global Alliance (complete with capital letters) to investigate how
to cut emissions from agriculture - that suggests a focus on
methane, but could also include work on cutting carbon use. As Mr
Key says, the world has to urgently find a way of increasing food
production and cutting gas emissions at the same time. While
details are scarce at this stage, he's suggesting that New Zealand
could take a leading role as a research hub. Tim Groser, our
associate climate change minister, is building support for the
Alliance at meetings in New York and the government has appointed
one of the world's leading climate change thinkers in Simon Upton
to act as a special envoy.
What all this means is an investment in scientific research on
everything from cows' farts to biofuels that would reduce the cost
of exports. Accentuating the positive, it could position New
Zealand as a player in the burgeoning clean tech industry and
promote our relevance on the world stage. But the potential for
this sort of research to eliminate the negative is just as
important. Our ability to keep exporting food and dairy products to
environmentally-aware markets, our credibility in promoting a '100%
Pure' tourism industry, and the protection of our natural
environment all depend on finding ways to cut our emissions.
The Prime Minister is trying to leverage the world-leading
ag-science that goes on in this country and the global players we
have leading the charge on climate change. People such as Ralph
Sims and Peter Read both from Massey University leap to mind.
Sir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister's science adviser, will have
played a significant role in this announcement. He has been pushing
the government to recognise this country's potential to lead on
climate change research, especially in methane reduction. We know
animal husbandry, we need to cut methane like no other country
because it makes up half of this country's emissions, and there is
significant profit to be had from any answers our scientists find.
California, for example, decided fours years ago to become a
world leader in clean technology.
Contrary to those who complain about the damage to the economy if
we act on climate change, the economic benefits could reach into
the billions. Just yesterday corporations such as GE, Coca-Cola and
Starbucks signed a statement calling on governments worldwide to
enact
climate change regulations and Oxfam New Zealand
again stressed that, "New Zealand's future lies in stepping up to
the challenge of climate change and building business advantage for
the
low carbon economy".
Other countries are focusing on cutting carbon, so as Sir Peter and
others have pointed out, there's a gap in the research market for
those who want to work on methane.
The hoped-for scenario goes something like this: Our government
promises to create a hub for international research, other
governments and agricultural companies share in the investment,
scientists arrive from around the world to work at the cutting
edge, and new technology breakthroughs result. If you want an
example of how this could work, just look at BP's $500m investment
in biofuel research handed to UC Berkeley in 2007.
The political tension in this is that the Key administration has
previously said it does not want New Zealand to be a leader on
climate change, it cut the previous government's $700m Fast Forward
fund for agricultural science, and our emissions reduction target
is hardly world-beating. It has tended to side with the
economic-sceptics who see swift action on climate change as a
threat rather than an opportunity.
Does this announcement signal a new approach? If so, there's no
time to lose. We're already years behind large economies such as
California, Japan and Germany. So let's hope other governments take
the Prime Minister up on his offer to join the Alliance.
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