Agricultural greenhouse gases & the New Zealand policy environment
New Zealand is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, its Kyoto Protocol, and the new Paris Agreement. Read more
New Zealand is a member of the Global Research Alliance on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions Read more
New Zealand is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Read more
Report: Contribution of methane emissions from NZ livestock to global warming
31/08/18
Executive summary This report provides information on the global warming that might occur from future emissions of methane from livestock in New Zealand under different assumptions and scenarios. Specifically, the report seeks to answer three...
Adapting global shared socio-economic pathways for national and local scenarios
26/05/18
Frame, B., Lawrence, J., Ausseil, A.-G., Reisinger, A., & Daigneault, A. (2018). Adapting global shared socio-economic pathways for national and local scenarios. Climate Risk Management. Abstract Socio-economic scenarios enable us to...
Countries seek to improve measurement, reporting and verification of greenhouse gase emissions and mitigation in the livestock sector
14/11/17
A new paper titled Measurement, reporting and verification of livestock GHG emissions by developing countries in the UNFCCC: current practices and opportunities for improvement has been released. The paper describes basic requirements for...
GRA Research Flagships
01/11/17
When it met in 2016, the GRA Council approved the development of four flagship programmes as a way of defining research priorities and attracting resourcing. The flagships are: Enteric fermentation Agricultural greenhouse gas inventories...
Further international recognition for Andy Reisinger
19/10/17
The NZAGRC’s Deputy Director (International), Dr Andy Reisinger, has been invited to join an international scientific advisory panel that aims to address sustainable agriculture, food security and the impacts of climate change. Dr Reisinger...
NZAGRC: Global methane emissions discrepancy not applicable to NZ
04/10/17
An overseas report stating that global methane emissions from agriculture are larger than estimated previously does not call into question the accuracy of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas measurements, say the leaders of the New Zealand...
Two vacancies at INRA Paris
13/09/17
Scientific Officer of the international research program on ‘Soils for Food Security and Climate’ 1 year position, based at INRA, Paris, France. The global initiative ‘4 per mil. Soils for Food Security and Climate’ of...
New scholarship to support greenhouse gas research
29/08/17
A new $400,000 scholarship programme to build global expertise on climate change, agriculture and food security will boost New Zealand’s contribution to agricultural greenhouse gas research say Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett and...
GRA Livestock Research Group Newsletter: July 2017
13/07/17
Welcome to the July 2017 edition of the Livestock Research Group’s newsletter. USDA’s Acting Chief Scientist, Dr Ann Bartuska, remarked at the recent Livestock Research Group (LRG) meeting how much the group has grown in subject area...
IPCC AR6 Special Reports
02/07/17
During the next five years, the IPCC will publish several major reports of relevance to livestock greenhouse gas emissions. The table specifies the IPCC reports and the cut-off date for publications to be considered by the IPCC in preparing its...
GRA Livestock Research Group Meeting: April 2017
01/06/17
The annual meeting of the Livestock Research Group (LRG) of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) was hosted by the United States in Washington D.C. from 10- 12 April 2017. It was attended by representatives from 28...
Sensitivity of the carbon footprint of New Zealand milk to greenhouse gas metrics
31/05/17
Reisinger, A., Ledgard, S.F., Falconer, S.J. 2017. Sensitivity of the carbon footprint of New Zealand milk to greenhouse gasmetrics. Ecological Indicators 81, 74–82. Highlights The carbon footprint of milk depends on the choice...
Low emissions development of the beef cattle sector in Uruguay
19/05/17
The NZAGRC in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN has released a report evaluating the potential for improving productivity while reducing enteric methane emission intensity from beef production in Uruguay. View...
Supporting low emissions development in the Bangladesh dairy sector
19/05/17
The NZAGRC in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN has released a report evaluating the potential for improving milk production while reducing enteric methane emission intensity from dairy production in Bangladesh....
Supporting low emissions development in the Ethiopian dairy cattle sector
19/05/17
The NZAGRC in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN has released a report evaluating the potential for improving milk production while reducing enteric methane emission intensity from dairy cattle production in Ethiopia....
Sharing New Zealand's success story
17/05/17
The Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance is documenting countries’ successes in reducing on-farm emissions intensity of livestock production at the same time as addressing other concerns related to increasing...
Dr Andy Reisinger: livestock impact on climate change set to rise
03/04/17
The impact of agriculture on global warming could be as high as 14 per cent says an agricultural greenhouse gas specialist. But livestock may be even higher globally at 19 per cent. Andy Reisinger the deputy director...
Greenhouse gas awareness of livestock's contribution to emissions rises among farmers
29/03/17
More farmers are aware of the impact of livestock on global warming, says an agricultural greenhouse research expert. New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre director Dr Harry Clark said farmer awareness of their...
The structure of agricultural greenhouse gas research funding in New Zealand
29/03/17
This publication is a guide to New Zealand's way of funding greenhouse gas research in New Zealand including ways the funds work in partnership to grow New Zealand's understanding and contribution to real solutions to tackle climate change.
New Zealand-Argentina agricultural agreement signed
20/03/17
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has signed an Agricultural Cooperation Arrangement with Argentina today, aimed at building closer relationships between the two countries. Read more at...
China and New Zealand discuss climate change
22/02/17
17 February 2017 Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett says China and New Zealand have experience and expertise to share about responding to climate change. Read more at...
Report: Desk-top review of GHG components of OVERSEER
15/11/16
Report prepared for the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre August 2015 Read more
Cows, Sheep and Science: A Scientific Perspective on Biological Emissions from Agriculture
31/10/16
The science is clear. When debating emissions, consider your goals. This paper was commissioned by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in the context of the Commissioner’s investigation into the merits of an “all-gases,...
NZAGRC welcomes PCE report on agricultural GHG mitigation
19/10/16
Wednesday, 19 October 2016 The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report into greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture highlights the need for a suite of mitigation solutions rather than a single silver bullet....
NZAGRC welcomes stocktake of New Zealand's action on climate change
23/09/16
Friday, 23 September 2016 The NZAGRC supports the New Zealand government’s commitment to progress action on climate change, summarised yesterday in the Ministry for the Environment’s stocktake document: “New...
Modelling Agriculture's Contribution to New Zealand's Contribution to the Post-2020 Agreement
01/09/16
This report has been commissioned by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to provide information on expected future agricultural emissions and the potential of mitigation actions. It aims to assist in developing different approaches to an...
What is a national GHG inventory?
31/08/16
National inventories The Ministry for the Environment defines New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory as “an annual report of all human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases in New Zealand”. The Ministry must produce...
What is Global Warming Potential?
01/08/16
Greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide differ in how long they last in the atmosphere and how effective they are in absorbing heat radiation. To allow emissions of those gases to be compared, emissions are often...
Bridging the gap between impact assessment methods and climate science
11/07/16
Francesco Cherubini, Jan Fuglestvedt, Thomas Gasser, Andy Reisinger, Otávio Cavalett, Mark A.J. Huijbregts, Daniel J.A. Johansson, Susanne V. Jørgensen, Marco Raugei, Greg Schivley, Anders Hammer Strømman, Katsumasa Tanaka,...
Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 degrees Celcius target
11/07/16
Wollenberg, E., Richards, M., Smith, P., Havlík, P., Obersteiner, M., Tubiello, F. N., Herold, M., Gerber, P., Carter, S., Reisinger, A., van Vuuren, D. P., Dickie, A., Neufeldt, H., Sander, B. O., Wassmann, R., Sommer, R., Amonette, J. E.,...
Global links strengthen agriculture research
01/06/16
A new round of research funding and the appointment of a Special Representative are big steps forward for New Zealand’s involvement in the Global Research Alliance, Ministers Paula Bennett and Nathan Guy say. “New Zealander Hayden...
New use of global warming potentials to compare cumulative and short-lived climate pollutants
02/05/16
Allen, M. R., J. S. Fuglestvedt, et al. (2016). "New use of global warming potentials to compare cumulative and short-lived climate pollutants." Nature Clim. Change 6(8): 773-776. Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...
PICK OF THE COP: KEY OUTCOMES OF THE PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
24/03/16
History was made on 12 December 2015, when the gavel went down on a new global climate change agreement at the 21st UN climate change conference (COP 21) in Paris. For the first time in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)...
1035 Andy Reisinger, NZAGRC Deputy Director (International)
07/05/15
Andy began with a very clear message that the global community needs to take action now in order to limit warming to two degrees. “If agriculture doesn’t take any effective action, we would have to actively remove carbon dioxide from...
1055 Jo Tyndall, New Zealand's Climate Change Ambassador
07/05/15
Jo provided a fascinating insight into the global political landscape in the GHG and climate change area. At the end of this year, 40,000 delegates are expected in France and the hope is that a new global agreement will be finalised. With...
From coping to resilience: the role of managed retreat in highly developed coastal regions
01/03/15
Reisinger, A., J. Lawrence, et al. (2015). From coping to resilience: The role of managed retreat in highly developed coastal regions of New Zealand. Climate Change and the Coast, CRC Press: 285-310. Abstract To follow Read more (external paid,...
Economic and Policy Implications of Alternative GHG Metrics
26/11/12
Agriculture emits a range of greenhouse gases. Evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation strategies requires a way to compare the contribution of individual gases to overall emissions. This is usually done by converting emissions of methane and...
The Impact of Livestock Agriculture on Climate Change
26/11/12
There is robust scientific evidence that the climate is changing, and that most of the warming observed over the past 50 years is due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities. This fact sheet summarises why, and how,...
Uncertainties of global warming metrics: CO2 and CH4
30/07/10
Reisinger, A., M. Meinshausen, M. Manning, and G. Bodeker (2010), Uncertainties of global warming metrics: CO2 and CH4, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L14707, doi:10.1029/2010GL043803. We present a comprehensive...
Chapter 1 Tourism and Climate Change
30/06/10
Christian Schott, , Andy Reisinger, , Taciano L. Milfont, (2010), Chapter 1 Tourism and Climate Change, in Christian Schott (ed.) Tourism and the Implications of Climate Change: Issues and Actions (Bridging...
