"A watershed moment" - that's what the country's biggest polluters are calling their proposal for paying for their own emissions
Agriculture makes up half of New Zealand's emissions but isn't in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) - so the Government told the primary sector to come up with its own pricing plan or be forced into the ETS by 2025.
Here it is: Individual farmers will be responsible for calculating and paying for their greenhouse gases, they'll pay less for methane, and get discounts for taking action to cut emissions. It's expected the proposal will reduce methane emissions by 4.5 to 5 percent by 2030.
But Greenpeace campaigner Christine Rose has dubbed the plan "an absolute lemon" and "a ham-fisted attempt to cook the books" and says other industries will end up picking up the slack.
It was a new dawn for New Zealand farmers, finally on track to paying for their greenhouse gases.
"It's about being part of the solution," said dairy farmer Melissa Slattery.
"Today is a watershed moment for New Zealand and the New Zealand farmers," said Beef + Lamb NZ's Nicky Hyslop.
But some - like the Federated Farmers - are reluctantly getting on board.
"Well, we've signed up to it," said Federated Farmers national president Andrew Hoggard.
The He Waka Eke Noa taskforce's emissions pricing system is more carrot than stick.
"It means that all those positive things we do are going to be recognised and we will have a credible system to achieve the targets moving forward," said Slattery.
Landowners will need to register if they have any one or more of the following: 550 animals, 50 dairy cattle, 700 pigs, 50,000 poultry or use more than 40 tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser.
They'll calculate their emissions - methane and long-lived gases like CO2 separately - using a standardised calculator.
They'll be incentivised to use tech like low-methane sheep genetics and sequester carbon by planting shelter belts to lower their levy.
That levy will be invested into research and development.
The taskforce proposes farmers get 95 percent off what other polluters get charged under the ETS.
Farmers say that's necessary to stay internationally competitive
"Better farming practices and technologies, rather than production cuts," said Dairy Companies Association's Malcolm Bailey.
But Rose said "industrial agriculture" is "committing to do as little as possible, while still making it look as if they're doing something".
She said He Waka Eke Noa's proposal is "a fail" and won't help avert the climate crisis.
"These recommendations, for society, are disappointing, because they don't shift the dial on climate change."
Rose said the Government should reject the proposal and bring agriculture into the ETS and phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
The Climate Change Minister knows there are still plenty of holes to patch up
"What are the price points that are going to make a difference? What's the level of revenue that's going to be needed to cover the cost of the programme itself and provide those incentives to farmers?" James Shaw said.
Cut pollution, stay profitable, and keep food production sustainable for future generations - a big job.
