New Zealand has long committed itself as a world leader in the fight against climate change. Now the nation plans to take its efforts a step further with a new tax on burps from cattle.
On Tuesday, the country introduced a controversial greenhouse emissions plan to tax farm animal burps and pee to reduce greenhouse gasses. Cattle urine produces nitrous oxide, and their burps release methane into the atmosphere. Both collectively account for about half of New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions. The proposed plan would incentivize farmers to use newer technology to curb livestock emissions and tax them if they do not comply. It’s a move aimed at achieving the country’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Meanwhile, in the United States, livestock are responsible for a significant fraction of methane emissions. Agriculture accounts for only 11% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While cow burps haven’t necessarily been a target in America, the collective goal to reduce emissions is on the U.S. bucket list. President Biden signed an executive order in 2021 pledging carbon neutrality at the federal level by 2050. Twenty-one U.S. states and the District of Columbia have made similar pledges, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
