Environment & Climate
Australian Senate vote delayed on plan to fund Great Koala National Park through carbon credits
The Greens are considering whether to back a Nationals motion to disallow a federal plan that uses carbon offset sales to fund a major new reserve in New South Wales.
The short version
- The Australian Senate has postponed until next month a vote on a Nationals motion to block a federal plan funding the Great Koala National Park through carbon credits.
- The proposed 476,000-hectare reserve in northern New South Wales would protect roughly 12,000 koalas, add 176,000 hectares of state forest, and cap native forest logging across the state.
- The Greens requested the delay to deliberate on their position, facing internal division over whether the carbon offsets lack environmental integrity or if blocking the project would jeopardize vital conservation gains.
Key facts
- The Albanese government approved a proposal allowing New South Wales to create carbon credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the Great Koala National Park.[The Guardian]
- The park proposal adds 176,000 hectares of state forest to existing protected land to form a 476,000-hectare reserve protecting about 12,000 koalas.[The Guardian]
- A Senate vote on a Nationals motion to disallow the plan was pushed to next month following a delay requested by the Greens.[The Guardian]
- Opponents of the carbon credit plan, including the Australia Institute and former Greens leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne, argue the forest protections lack additionality under carbon accounting rules.[The Guardian]
- Supporters of the plan, including First Nations groups and ecologist David Lindenmayer, note the scheme caps native forest logging state-wide and that the credits represent under 1% of Australia's total annual issuance.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether Labor and the Greens will reach a compromise to restrict fossil fuel companies from purchasing credits from the project.[The Guardian]
- Whether the emissions reductions generated by the reserve meet additionality criteria under carbon accounting standards remains disputed by environmental groups and climate policy experts.[The Guardian]