Greenpeace – Adaptation Plan a “missed opportunity”

3 August: Greenpeace Aotearoa says the government’s climate change National Adaptation Planmisses the opportunity to make farming more resilient to climate change. The environmental organisation is calling on the Government to regulate the drivers of intensive dairying and support the transition to plant-based regenerative organic farming.

Greenpeace lead agriculture campaigner Christine Rose says “Adaptation to climate change needs to include action on intensive dairying, which produces around a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

“The Adaptation Plan has some good points – like recognising and supporting the role of nature-based solutions and biodiversity on farms as part of climate change adaptation. However, it misses the opportunities presented by a transition to plant-based regenerative organic farming.”Greenpeace’s comments come as a 2021 Manaaki Whenua report found that ‘Regenerative agriculture practices can increase resilience to flood and drought conditions, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity over the coming decades.’

“Farming with nature – not against it – is a critical part of making farming more resilient as the unpredictable impacts of climate change intensify. More plant-based, regenerative organic farming reduces farmers’ reliance on imported inputs, so their farms are more able to withstand supply-chain disruptions. Building soil health also means farms are more resilient in the face of droughts and floods, so food production is more reliable and dependable,” says Rose.

Greenpeace also notes that climate change adaptation is harder and more expensive than it needs to be for everyone because of government failure to act on the country’s biggest climate polluter – intensive dairying.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw said today, “we will depend on the Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) to address our emissions to start with,” but Rose says, “the ERP is mostly silent on intensive dairying. The Minister cannot say he is serious about tackling climate change if he’s not addressing the biggest polluter in the country.”

“To reduce and respond to climate change, the government must support a transition to more plant-based regenerative organic agriculture, and away from intensive dairying. Otherwise climate change, and adaptation costs will be carried by the public who do less than the intensive dairy sector toward causing climate pollution and chaos.” says Rose.