Wellington, October 17: New Zealand government has come out with a proposal to make farmers pay for their livestock’s emissions in a bid to combat climate change. Agricultural accounts for half of the country’s total emissions, including 91% of its biogenic emissions of methane. Under this proposal, a fee will be charged from the farmers who raise sheep and goats along with cows.

New Zealand's environment ministry said the proposal would make New Zealand a major agricultural exporter, and New Zealand would be the first country where farmers would pay for emissions from livestock. New Zealand, a country with a population of 50 lakh people, has about 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep. About half of the greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand come from the agriculture sector. Most of the emissions of methane gas, in particular come from cattle burps. Therefore, in order to try to stop global warming, the New Zealand government has decided to collect burping fees from farmers. Air Canada To Buy 30 Electric-Hybrid Planes Offering Zero-Emission Flights by 2028

Under the draft plan put together by representatives of the New Zealand government and the farming community, farmers will have to pay for gas emissions from domesticated cattle from 2025. Short-term and long-lived agricultural gas prices will differ, although the same measure will be used to calculate their quantity. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Unveils India's First Indigenously Developed Zero Emission Bus in Pune (Watch Video)

In the proposal introduced by the New Zealand government, incentives have been arranged for those farmers, who arrange such kind of feed for their animals which leads to less animal burps. At the same time, the revenue from this scheme will be invested in research, development and advisory services for farmers. However, ANZ Bank agricultural economist Susan Kilsby said the proposal would likely be the biggest regulatory disruption to farming since the removal of farm subsidies in the 1980s. The final decision on this plan is likely to arrive  in December.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2022 05:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).