The Parliamentary Select Committee that has been reviewing the design of the proposed New Zealand emissions trading scheme has tabled its report, and made a series of recommendations about the design of the ETS for NEW Zealand. The next step in this process will be a response from the NZ Government, specifying which (if any) of the recommendations will be implemented. View the rest of the post here

The results of a public opinion survey of New Zealanders on a range of issues associated with emissions trading policies has shown that there is a considerable division of opinion on specific aspects of an ETS, and in particular on the role of agriculture in the New Zealand Scheme. View the rest of the post here

The contrasting views of the agriculture sector in the USA about the potential implications of the proposed USA emissions trading scheme have been in evidence during the past week, with both the current US Agriculture Secretary, and the former US Agriculture Secretary trading views on the subject. View the rest of the post here

Despite recent meetings between the Australian and New Zealand Governments, the uncertainty surrounding the future role of the agriculture in the emission trading schemes of both nations remains very uncertain. View the rest of the post here

The CSIRO has released a new study suggesting that the agriculture sector in Queensland could provide 140 million tonnes of greenhouse abatement or mitigation per year, equal to about 77% of that States annual greenhouse emissions. The main sources of sequestration/abatement identified are associated with forestry, although changed agricultural practices and the use of bioenergy are also seen as major sources of mitigation. View the rest of the post here

While expressing a desire to make sure that Australia and New Zealand have emissions trading schemes that align, neither New Zealand PM John Keys or Australian PM Kevin Rudd gave any hints away about the role of agriculture at their press conference following a recent joint cabinet meeting between the leaders of the two nations held last week. View the rest of the post here

Recent political debate on climate change policy seems to have ignored the role agriculture has played in Australia meeting its Kyoto Protocol target, and answers given in Parliament this week point to agriculture being at risk of again bearing an unfair emission burden.  View the rest of the post here

Over the last week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been talking up the potential for carbon tariffs to become a feature in international trade, and the risk they pose to Australian businesses in the event Australia does not implement the CPRS in advance of the Copenhagen Climate Summit. View the rest of the post here

In the washup of last week's Senate debate on the CPRS, there has been a renewed burst of debate about the scheme and its impacts on different sectors, perhaps best exemplified by the Prime Minister saying farmers are all doomed unless Australia implement the legislation, and others saying farmers are doomed if Australia does. View the rest of the post here

Despite a week of furious debate and discussion, the future role of Australian agriculture under Australia's proposed emission trading scheme remains uncertain. The Opposition has proposed exempting agricultural emissions from a CPRS liability, while the Government maintains that a decision on agriculture's role will be made in 2013, with the potential of inclusion of agricultural emissions after 2105 View the rest of the post here