New Zealand has proposed a charge on sheep and cow burps to combat one of the country's major producers of greenhouse emissions.
It would be the first country to levy a fee on farmers for methane emissions from their livestock.
New Zealand has a population of somewhat more than five million people, as well as around ten million cattle and 26 million sheep.
Agriculture accounts for over half of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane.
Agricultural emissions, on the other hand, have historically been excluded from New Zealand's carbon trading plan, which has been criticized by those who want the government to do more to combat global warming. "There is no doubt that we need to reduce the amount of methane we emit into the sky," New Zealand's climate change minister James Shaw said. "An efficient emissions pricing scheme for agriculture will play a crucial role in how we do that."
Farmers will have to pay for greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2025, according to the idea.
Farmers that minimize emissions by using feed additives will be rewarded, and planting trees on farms will be used to offset emissions.
Andrew Hoggard, a dairy farmer and national president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand, told the BBC that he supported the suggestions in general.
"We've been working on this for years with the government and other organizations to obtain an approach that won't shut down farming in New Zealand, so we've signed off on a lot of stuff we like."
"However, as with any of these sorts of deals involving several parties, there will always be a few of dead rats you have to swallow," he said.
Mr. Hoggard also stated that the finer points of the plan's implementation had still to be worked out.
"There are still some kinks to figure out, such as who will really administer the system, so there's still some stuff to work out with the government."
According to the country's environment ministry, the money earned from the plan would be used for research, development, and advising services for farmers.
Last month, New Zealand's finance minister pledged NZ$2.9 billion (£1.5 billion; $1.9 billion) for climate-change projects, which will be supported via a polluter-funded emissions trading scheme.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, investors holding $14 trillion in assets asked the UN to develop a worldwide strategy to ensure the agriculture sector's long-term viability.
The FAIRR Initiative said in a letter to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's director-general – which was first reported by the Reuters news agency – that the agency was best-positioned to take the lead on developing a road-map to reduce one of the most significant sources of climate-damaging emissions.
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