CANBERRA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The peak body representing Australian farmers has warned that an ambitious emissions reduction target would hurt the agriculture industry.
Tony Mahar, president of the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) told News Corp Australia on Friday that the Opposition Australian Labor Party's plan for a 45 percent emissions reduction target would make Australian farmers less competitive in international markets.
"If it means more costs in the supply chain then we have to have ways where the competitiveness on Australian agriculture products are not compromised," Mahar said.
"We export two-thirds of what we produce. So we have got to maintain our competitiveness while doing out bit for climate change," Mahar said.
"The cost of 45 percent in emissions target is likely to mean there are extra costs in the supply chain and we want to understand what that means for agricultural products both here and overseas and we haven't got that level of detail yet," Mahar added.
Under Labor's proposal, which was announced by party leader Bill Shorten in November 2018, the party will legislate 45 percent emissions reduction target by 2030 based on 2005 levels if it wins the general election on May 18. It also plans to introduce a 50 percent renewable energy target.
