Key warns farmers on ETS

Prime Minister John Key warned farmers yesterday that they rejected a response to climate change at their peril - endangering their reputations, future incomes and the economy at the hands of powerful global consumers. He gave a hard-hitting speech yesterday in Wellington to the Federated Farmers' National Council reports The NZ Herald. "Our international reputation with our overseas consumers is at stake," he said. While the Government had some sway over access to overseas markets, it could not force consumers to buy NZ products if they did not think they measured up to their environmental standards. "But we can help protect against that possibility. That's what we believe our emissions trading scheme does and I hope you will see it in that light." Mr Key cited the recent ban by British supermarket Waitrose on fish that it deemed had been over-fished or harvested by irresponsible means. It had banned New Zealand hoki.The supermarket had not suffered and the move was considered a commercial success. National, with concessions for Maori Party support, is taking through Parliament amendments to Labour's ETS which reduces the impact on the agriculture. Mr Key told the meeting that officials had estimated that the annual cost of National's proposed emissions trading scheme on the average farmer would be $3000 by 2030 for agricultural methane and nitrous oxide emissions compared with $30,000 it would have been under Labour's scheme.