25 February 2009
DAFF09/88T
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke
Ashleigh Gillon, AM Agenda, Sky News
E&OE
Subjects: Role of agriculture in emissions trading; R&D to cut livestock emissions
ASHLEIGH GILLON: I’m going to start with the Agriculture Minister, Tony Burke, who joins me here in Canberra. Minister, good morning.
TONY BURKE: Good morning Ashleigh.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: The Coalition argues that you can do more to cut emissions and give more support to industry, partly by allowing farmers to opt in to an emissions trading scheme. Do you think that’s realistic?
TONY BURKE: Well, the opt in concept presumes, at the moment, that measurement science is better than where the science of measurement is. It also presumes that under the current international accounting model, farmers would want to opt in.
Farming enterprises generally at the moment are not carbon sinks. That’s why we’re focussing on the research, to try to get to a situation where we reduce the emissions profile from farms. I’m not sure why a farmer would want to opt in at the moment, given where the accounting mechanisms are at and the limits on ways they can currently reduce their emissions.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: Well the peak body representing farmers, the National Farmers’ Federation, has added its criticism about the emissions trading scheme to the fray in recent days. I understand you’re meeting with them today. They would like you to consider this opt in method.
TONY BURKE: Our approach is the approach that’s there within the White Paper. And we’ll be making a decision in 2013 about whether or not agriculture should come in in 2015.
Now the concepts of opt in we’ll be working through with them – as to whether or not that’s one of the options that we go to in 2015. But certainly, this side of that, to opt in where you don’t have good science to accurately measure, then how do you participate in the trading scheme?
ASHLEIGH GILLON: So just to be very clear on this, at the moment the proposed emissions trading scheme means that if farmers do cut emissions by storing carbon in the soil, that just can’t be recognised?
TONY BURKE: Well it’s recognised in other ways and through other programs. I mean a whole lot of the work that’s done in soil carbon matches up very closely with Caring for Our Country, with the Landcare work that’s been done for a long time and that’s been directly supported by Government.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: So if it’s recognised in that way, why can’t it be included as part of this scheme?
TONY BURKE: Because you can recognise in the sense of knowing that it’s providing some sort of benefit, and therefore provide funding for a whole lot of that natural resource management work, which does have the impact of increasing soil carbon. Once you talk about being part of a trading system, then you need to have accurate accounting. And the accounting model needs to match the international model so you can participate in the global carbon market. Now, agriculture’s simply not in that position at the moment.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: And Australia can’t be a step ahead? Do we really need to rely on that international modelling?
TONY BURKE: Well, it would be an extraordinary step if the Coalition were to argue that we should withdraw from being able to participate in international carbon markets. To not be part of the international carbon market puts some real limits on the options available to industry.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: You’re announcing today some $27 million to be spent on research as to how emissions can be reduced in the agriculture sector. Just explain in layman’s terms for us, how that’s going to work.
TONY BURKE: Well, first of all, agricultural emissions are 16 per cent of our total greenhouse emissions in Australia. And 70 per cent of that amount comes from your livestock; your cattle, your sheep, your goats. Now, mainly it comes out of four stomachs, and a whole lot of methane comes out of their mouth while they eat.
There’s three different ways that the research is looking at how we can reduce this. One’s breeding options. The second is feed efficiency – how can you vary the feed to reduce the methane that comes out of the mouth?
ASHLEIGH GILLON: So when you’re talking about the methane coming out of the mouth, we’re talking about cows and sheep burping, essentially?
TONY BURKE: Yes, essentially. That’s right. And the final area is some research on the bacteria in their four stomachs, and seeing how we can possibly modify that in a way that produces less methane.
The good thing about all of those sorts of research is they all have a productivity benefit. The greenhouse gases, at one level, are another part of farm waste. And the more you can reduce that and come up with options that cause less of that to take place, then you also get a productivity benefit on the way through.
ASHLEIGH GILLON: Agriculture Minister, Tony Burke, thanks for your time.
TONY BURKE: Pleasure.
ENDS