AgritechNZ’s response to NZ’s second emissions reduction plan

Submission by AgritechNZ to the Ministry for the Environment

AgriTech New Zealand (AgriTechNZ) thanks the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Second Emissions Reduction Plan for New Zealand, specifically for agriculture.

The AgriTechNZ community is deeply committed to developing innovative technologies and solutions to drive climate mitigation and enable New Zealand’s best producers to thrive in an increasingly challenging environment. Our mission is to deliver the world’s best tools, services, and insights that empower sustainable and productive practices amidst a climate crisis.

We recognise that our solutions do not exist in isolation; they are part of a broader ecosystem that must adapt to actual emissions, additional sequestration efforts, and the availability of technology. Our commitment is to ensure that technology roadmaps and adoption are effectively communicated as part of an adaptive system, ideally guided by communication tools such as marginal abatement cost curves. This approach emphasises the necessity of achieving net emissions reductions and the critical timing and impact of decisions to meet these goals. We need an agile system to enable decisions between more trees / fewer ruminants / new technologies….

We also believe new approaches are needed if the primary sector is to take advantage of the technologies that will change New Zealand’s food production emissions profile. New methods should include a collection of supports and incentives to accelerate the uptake of technologies that enable reduced emissions or increased sequestration. The challenges we face in emissions reduction will require acceleration that moves faster than pure economic market demands.

By working together within this adaptive and incentivised framework, we can support the resilience and success of New Zealand’s agricultural sector and ensure that it remains a global leader in sustainable and productive practices.