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The Government will commit $710 million over four years to accelerate efforts to lower agricultural emissions, expand the contribution of forestry to reduce carbon, and produce alternative green fuels.
Primary Industries Minister Damian O’Connor says almost half the pūtea from the Climate Emergency Response Fund, $339 million, will go to accelerate the development of high-impact technologies and practices to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, including the establishment of the new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions.
Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says $73.5 million from Budget 2022 will go towards increasing woody biomass to replace coal in industrial process heat.
The funding will enable the planting of 10,000ha of forest.
Further funding will scale up native seedling production to increase native forest planting and create long term carbon sinks.
Māori landowners have complained it is far more economic to plant pines than native species, but new rules from the Emissions trading scheme will block them from planning exotic forests on remote and marginal land.
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