Last Tuesday, New Zealand’s government proposed taxing farmers on the greenhouse gas emissions that cows and sheep make from burping and urinating. Under the farm levy, farmers would start paying for agricultural emissions in 2025, with specific pricing to be determined (CNBC). The levy will help the nation follow through on its pledge to reduce methane emissions from farm animals by 10% by 2030, part of the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, about half of which come from farms (AP News, BBC). 

New Zealand farmers have been quick to criticize the plan. The agricultural sector’s main lobby group released a statement that the tax would "rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand" (BBC, AP News). Some opponents to the plan have suggested that the levy could drive agricultural production and exports––both vital to New Zealand’s economy––to other countries that have less efficient farming methods, thereby increasing global farming emissions. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asserted that the tax could benefit the nation’s economic status in the global food market, saying, “New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning our biggest export market for the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of their food” (AP News). The government noted that revenue from the levy would be “recycled back into [the] agriculture sector through new technology, research and incentive payments to farmers,” and that farmers should be able to make up the cost of the levy by charging more for climate-friendly produce (BBC, CNBC).