BERL 2021 — Māori Economy Emissions Profile: Climate Change Mitigation Impact on the Māori Economy
- Sep 30, 2021
- 1 min read
Commissioned by MPI and MBIE, this 2021 report by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) and Land Use Capability Assessments is the first systematic attempt to map the Māori economy's greenhouse gas emissions profile — across sectors, rohe, and gas types — and to assess vulnerability to the transition to a low-emissions economy.
The report finds that the Māori economy, while contributing 6.4% of New Zealand's GDP, accounts for 11.2% of gross GHG emissions — driven overwhelmingly by concentration in sheep and beef (51% of Māori emissions) and dairy. The Māori economy's emissions intensity is nearly double the national average. Structural vulnerabilities compound this: Māori freehold land is often marginal and locked into high-emissions land use, pre-1990 forest coverage limits ETS eligibility, Māori collectives carry concentrated agricultural exposure, and Māori workers are overrepresented in lower-skilled roles in high-emissions industries. The report identifies transition-aligned opportunities in ETS afforestation, horticulture diversification, bioeconomy, and low-emissions food, but notes that capital access barriers and land use constraints will limit uptake without targeted support.
The BERL report provides the macroeconomic backdrop against which Project Kāinga's hapū-led work sits. It confirms what Project Kāinga's communities are living: that the Māori economy bears a disproportionate share of the emissions-reduction burden, while facing compounding disadvantages in making the transition. The kāinga plans developed through Project Kāinga — addressing freshwater, land use, food sovereignty, and climate adaptation from the ground up — represent the kind of hapū-led response the BERL report gestures toward but cannot itself prescribe.
