Vast areas of land in parts of the East Coast and North Otago are being converted into carbon farms, where trees are planted to soak up carbon from the atmosphere.
For New Zealand to reach its net-zero emission target by 2050, the Government has incentivised capturing emissions from the atmosphere. This process is largely through people planting trees that store carbon.
Companies can then buy these carbon credits to offset the amount of pollution they emit as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Recently, carbon credit prices have skyrocketed, making planting trees a lot more profitable.
Many entrepreneurs are now getting in on the multi-billion-dollar industry.
But their carbon farms involve very few long-term workers, with the farms themselves designed never to be logged.
With farm jobs being lost, workers are leaving rural communities and some schools are even closing.
The Climate Change Commission has said we have to make drastic changes to reach our emissions targets, but some are asking whether the costs are too high for the country.
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