Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

New fund to support emissions research

Updated at 5:40 am on 25 June 2011

The Government is putting $25 million into an international fund which will support research on migitating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral farms.

Agriculture Minister David Carter says the fund is being launched at the first ministerial meeting of the Global Research Alliance in Rome.

The alliance is a New Zealand-led initiative on agricultural emissions, launched in 2009.

Mr Carter says more than 30 other countries will officially sign up to it at the meeting in Rome.

He says the fund will focus on innovative solutions to reducing emissions while producing more food, which he says is a significant challenge faced by farming systems around the world.

He says the fund will be open to all scientists, but projects must include a New Zealand partner.

Other countries are also making substantial contributions to the fund.

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