The NSW government’s plan to allow industry to use the proposed Great Koala National Park to generate carbon credits is expected to proceed after the Greens reached a deal with Labor, despite three Greens senators declaring they will cross the floor against the agreement.
The carbon-credit method allows state governments to earn credits for protecting native forests that had been earmarked for logging. The plan is expected to pass the Senate with the support of Labor, seven Greens senators and other crossbenchers, including independents David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe. The vote has been brought forward to Thursday afternoon.
Greens senators Nick McKim, Vanessa Bleyer and Jordon Steele-John have said they oppose the method and will vote against the deal with the Coalition. They said they would vote “according to our consciences” and objected to what they described as the “relentless commodification of nature”.
Greens leader Larissa Waters said the party would support the disputed carbon-credit method after securing changes, while opposing other upcoming carbon-credit legislation that would generate a larger number of credits.
Waters said the Greens’ broader campaign against Labor’s carbon-credit system would begin with opposition to 40% of the offsets used by major polluters. She argued that Labor had created a system that allowed big polluters to use offsets rather than cut emissions.
Under the deal, the Greens said credits from a native forest project could not be sold to coal and gas companies if the relevant state government promised that would be the case. NSW Premier Chris Minns has made such a commitment in relation to the koala park, although the commitment is not legally enforceable.
Other changes include increasing the amount logging must be reduced in an area for a project to qualify for carbon credits, rising from 20% to 30% from 2030. The agreement also closes a loophole that could have allowed regrowing native forests to be classified as a loggable plantation.
The Nationals have opposed the regulation, arguing it would hurt the forestry industry, while the Greens and environment groups have been divided over the use of carbon credits as part of the proposed park.
The proposed Great Koala National Park is planned as a 476,000-hectare reserve, including 176,000 hectares of newly protected areas.
The latest Senate developments highlight the continuing internal split within the Greens, with seven senators expected to support the deal while McKim, Bleyer and Steele-John vote against it.
Australia By Aussie previously reported on the Greens’ decision to allow the Great Koala National Park carbon-credit plan to proceed in its earlier coverage of the deal.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has defended the agreement, while criticising three Greens senators who crossed the floor to vote with One Nation against the measure.
Speaking to RN Breakfast, Bowen said it was “disappointing that three Greens crossed the floor to vote with One Nation”. He said he was pleased the measure had passed Parliament, arguing that it represented practical action on emissions while providing a pathway for investment and economic development in regions affected by logging.
Bowen said he was pleased that the majority of the Greens party room had worked with Labor to secure the agreement, despite the dissent from the three senators.
Source: The Guardian
By Australia By Aussie
