After much deliberation we have decided to exercise our right to take a position according to our consciences. We do not support the INFM, and will vote in the Senate to disallow it.
Just as there are different views in the environment movement about Labor's proposal to sell forest carbon to corporations so they can keep emitting, so there are different views in the Australian Greens party room.
People of good heart and clear mind can, and have, come to a different position on this issue. We understand the position that others have taken, and we hope they can understand ours.
We want Greens members and supporters to know that we do not support the relentless commodification of nature, and will not be part of making it easier and cheaper for big carbon polluters to keep emitting as the INFM does.
Statement from Senator Nick McKim & Senator Vanessa Bleyer:
"This is a crossroads moment for the Greens, and we have not taken this decision lightly.
"We have both spent many years of our lives fighting alongside activists and community groups to defend forests, and simply don't accept that forests need to be monetised in order to save them.
"This is a Labor shakedown. After repeatedly, unconditionally promising the Great Koala National Park, Labor is now holding koalas hostage and threatening to drive them towards extinction unless they can profit from their habitat. This is an ecocidal threat and we have chosen to resist it.
"The carbon in the GKNP is already safe as the park has been promised and the logging has stopped. The carbon credits from that project will help big emitters to keep polluting with no genuinely additional carbon benefit.
"There is no guarantee that a single extra hectare of forest will be protected if this methodology survives, and it risks driving the management of forests towards carbon capture rather than habitat preservation.
"The INFM is a neoliberal response to a crisis caused by neoliberalism, and it sets an alarming precedent. If it passes we may never again see a National Park or marine protected area created unless carbon or biodiversity can be monetised in some way.
"Forests are profound and complex ecosystems that should be protected for their intrinsic values, not for profit.
"The tragic reality is that climate change is a greater threat to native forests than logging. We will not be party to making forest protection contingent on a mechanism that drives their destruction.
"Climate breakdown means that the forests used to generate credits are more likely to burn, with their carbon ending up in the atmosphere but the credits being used by big emitters to keep polluting. This is a perverse outcome made more likely by Labor's entire offset framework and their love affair with coal and gas.
"Carbon offsets from forests rely on the fiction that no future government would protect forests without them. History has shown that vast tracts of forests around the country have been protected thanks to courageous activists and Greens in parliaments. We have no doubt this would have continued into the future without the INFM.
"As Senators for Tasmania we also hold deep concerns that this methodology could provide a financial lifeline for the ongoing destruction of Tasmania's native forests.
"We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has raised their voices and supported us to take this position. This includes forest defenders in Tasmania and around Australia, every state Greens MP in Tasmania and Western Australia, some Greens MPs in NSW, as well as our friends and mentors Bob Brown and Christine Milne."
Statement from Senator Jordon Steele-John:
"I feel a responsibility to listen to the movement I represent in Western Australia, and to act according to my conscience.
"The Greens (WA) have a long and proud history of being in solidarity with forest campaigners. Over decades, we have fought for, and won, protections for our native forests. That history, and the strength of our forest and climate movement in Western Australia, informs the position I am taking.
"As a Senator for WA, I am making this decision with the strong backing of WA's climate and environment movement. It is clear to me that Labor's proposal lacks the support of the people and organisations who have spent decades fighting to protect Western Australia's forests and environment, and ensure real climate action.
"Labor's proposal seeks to sell protected forests to major carbon polluters, enabling them to continue polluting while outsourcing their emissions reductions to forests. This risks perverse outcomes for our forests, which could be managed primarily for carbon storage rather than for the protection of biodiversity.
"The consequence of this decision would be more carbon credits in the market, which could make life easier for corporations like Alcoa to continue their destruction of our precious Northern Jarrah Forests and make it more possible for Woodside to enact its plans to destroy Scott Reef.
"I acknowledge that some of my Australian Greens colleagues hold a different view. Each of us brings our own experiences, perspectives, and relationships to the challenge of confronting the climate and extinction crises.
"For me, at this moment, exercising a conscience vote means being alongside the Western Australian climate and environment movement that is fighting for our forests, our environment, and a safe climate future.
"That is why I will vote to disallow the INFM."
