Australia’s much-criticised carbon credit scheme has been dealt yet another blow, after the New South Wales Government announced its decision to bar coal and gas companies from buying offsets generated by the Great Koala National Park.
It comes less than a week after the Federal Government abandoned the flawed Climate Active program, which allowed corporates to make carbon-neutral claims for products and services if they met a set of government standards.
Polly Hemming, Director of The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program, has previously described the reliance on carbon offsets as “state-sponsored greenwashing”.
Australia Institute co-CEO Richard Denniss described the NSW Government’s move as yet another blow for the fossil fuel industry.
“Premier Minns’ claim that coal and gas companies should be prevented from buying carbon offsets generated by his Great Koala National Park is a blow for the Albanese government’s failing ‘safeguard mechanism’ and its key client, the fossil fuel industry,” said Dr Denniss.
“Chris Minns is admitting what Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has been denying for years – that it makes no scientific sense to justify new gas and coal mines on the basis that some trees won’t be chopped down.
“The obvious first question is that if the NSW government won’t allow its carbon credits to be used for the sham of fossil fuel offsetting, why should anyone else be allowed to?”
Dr Denniss pointed out that that while the NSW Government’s decision is welcome, there is a lack of detail about their proposal.
“There is nothing in federal law that prevents any buyer of carbon credits from re-selling them to coal mines, gas frackers or any particular industry and without explaining how this will work, this is just a clumsy state intervention into federal climate policy,” he said.
“The foundation of the Commonwealth government’s ‘Safeguard Policy’ is that gas and coal projects can buy carbon offsets and such fossil fuel projects currently buy around two thirds of all the ACCUs sold in Australia.
“While it would make sense for the Albanese Government to prevent all fossil fuel companies from buying carbon offsets, it makes no sense for a state government to pretend it can control where any carbon credits it may generate will wind up.”
