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Source: Reuters -
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Australia's farmers could have 10% or more carved off their incomes despite the government's decision to exempt agriculture from the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), a forum in Brisbane was told.
Chairman of the National Farmers Federation's climate change working group Gerald Leach told the agricultural carbon forum that farmers' inputs and downstream processing of their products would still be liable to an emissions trading scheme, unlike their major competitors overseas.
Leach said the decision to exclude agriculture from the CPRS has saved farmers from an income drop of four per cent.
However, broadacre farmers still face an income cut of around 5.1% if the CPRs applies to farm input costs and 5.4% as their product is processed and marketed.
"The decision of last weekend ... certainly doesn't let agriculture off the hook, it certainly doesn't say agriculture is getting off scot-free which is what some other industries are saying," Mr Leach said.
Instead, other nations without a similar emissions trading scheme are gaining a competitive advantage.
"That's a real risk for Australian agriculture," Leach said.
He said the decision to exclude agriculture from the CPRS is good policy given only Australia and New Zealand had not yet excluded agriculture.
So far international emission accounting rules are not appropriate for agriculture, despite farmers making an enormous contribution to Australia's Kyoto targets through restrictions on tree clearing, he said.
"Kyoto carbon accounting rules are not designed for agriculture," Leach said.
"They're designed for the stationary energy, manufacturing and transport industries and so until we have better accounting rules ... it's not appropriate that agriculture be included in the CPRS."
Rules need to be changed so agriculture can contribute to carbon emission mitigation, Leach said.
President of Queensland broadacre farming group AgForce, John Cotter, said the cost of a CPRS to farmers could exceed 10%.
Trade-exposed export industries need relief from CPRS-imposed costs.
"We know that none of the countries where agricultural production is competing against us are going to be included (in a Copenhagen agreement) - they will not have those overheads," Cotter said.
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