New Zealand pledged to spend $375 million reducing greenhouse emissions and protecting communities in vulnerable countries.
But according to official documents reviewed by Stuff, some of that cash promoted planet-heating dairy and meat farming.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade funded projects to establish dairy farming in Fiji and Myanmar. Between 2015 and 2020, it also funded work to intensify meat or milk production in Laos, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.
The ministry included these projects in a list of New Zealand’s climate finance initiatives submitted to the UN.
Since livestock burps the potent greenhouse gas methane, an activist said it’s “bizarre” to class these projects as climate-positive.
In 2010, developed countries pledged to provide US$100 billion in climate finance each year to help developing nations. Although the financial target has not been reached, New Zealand has increased its commitments from NZ$50 million a year to NZ$325m.
The aid is intended to fund carbon-cutting efforts plus infrastructure to prepare communities for the effects of climate change.
Developed nations must make regular reports to the UN on how much finance is being provided. New Zealand submits a report every two years, which includes a list of aid projects. In 2020 – the most recent year available – more than 100 initiatives were funded.
Although many of these projects supported clean energy or water security, nine listed projects established or promoted meat and dairy farms. Red meat and milk products are some of the highest-emitting foods.
On top of methane, farms also produce the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
A Fiji project aiming to “create a sustainable domestic milk supply” received NZ$2.4m of climate finance over four years, according to official documents. Another project in Myanmar planned to “establish an inclusive, vibrant and sustainable dairy sector”.
Aid to Sri Lanka intended to grow the country’s dairy production.
A project in Lao People’s Democratic Republic sought “an expanded and viable beef industry”, while work in Uruguay was described as “support[ing] family farms to increase beef and forage production”.
A ministry spokesperson said in a statement these projects had either ended or are “in the process of winding up”.
Oxfam Aotearoa climate expert Nick Henry thought it was problematic to include dairy and meat-promoting projects in the climate finance list. He called on the ministry to review its approach.
Greenpeace campaigner Christine Rose agreed. It was bizarre, she said, to class projects this way.
The ministry spokesperson said the dairy or red meat farming projects “have the main aim of improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries”.
In its UN reports, the ministry lists – and counts a 30% share of the total funding for – all projects that had climate resilience co-benefits “even if climate response was not the main focus of the funding support”.
For example, by better managing water storage and animal health, a project might reduce the average emissions per litre of milk.
The ministry “is committed to regularly and transparently tracking, measuring, recording and forecasting climate-related assistance provided to developing countries,” the spokesperson said. “We are also committed to ongoing improvements in our tagging and reporting of climate finance.”
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta declined a request for an interview.
Climate Minister James Shaw directed Stuff to the ministry’s response, since he was not the minister in charge.
The Government supported global efforts to reduce the greenhouse impact of agriculture and to boost food security, he added.
“Is the end result of that actually reducing emissions or actually increasing emissions? From the reports I’ve seen, I don’t know the answer to that.”
Here are the countries where climate aid for dairy and meat farming was provided between 2015 and 2020:
Colombia: $1.2m
Fiji: $2.4m
Indonesia: $1.3m
Laos: $1m
Myanmar: $1.9m
Peru: $1.3m
Sri Lanka: $1.4m
Uruguay: $0.9m
Zambia: $0.8m
Total: $12.2m
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through New Zealand’s Biennial Reports to the UN. Amounts are in New Zealand dollars.
