Federal Parliament should disallow a controversial new method for making carbon credits, according to a working paper released by the Australia Institute today.
The working paper by University College London Associate Professor Fergus Green takes aim at a proposal by the NSW government to sell carbon credits in return for creating a national park to protect koala habitat.
The Senate will vote on a disallowance motion on the "Improved Native Forest Management" (INFM) on August 18, put forward by the National Party.
The Australia Institute has also released new polling showing overwhelming public support to protect koala habitat regardless of whether carbon credits are involved.
Australians overwhelmingly (82%) say that governments have an obligation to protect koala habitats (3% think governments have this obligation only if they are paid to do so)
- This includes three in four Liberal (77%) and One Nation (73%) voters.
- Most Australians (59%) agree that protecting forests should not be used to justify continued fossil fuel pollution. (25% disagree; 17% don't know)
- Most Australians (57%) support the Minns Government's decision to ban coal and gas companies from buying carbon offsets from the Great Koala National Park. (23% oppose; 20% don't know)
"Australia's carbon offset system is already plagued with integrity problems, and this method takes it from bad to worse," said Louise Morris, Head of Fossil Fuel Transition at The Australia Institute.
"NSW Labor has promised a koala national park for over a decade, and now, at the last minute, Premier Minns says he won't protect koalas unless he gets paid by polluters to do it.
"The key scam of carbon credits is to get paid to do something you were going to do anyway - protect ancient forests you already said you would protect.
"This is the NSW government getting in on the scam - get paid for the park that you've already promised and budgeted for.
"Perhaps the biggest reason for Federal Parliament to disallow this is the precedent that it sets - if NSW is paid for a park it was already creating, then every other state government will want to be paid to protect its forests, or indeed to take any other climate action.
"The polling results show that the public sees through this. They want koala habitat protected, just like they voted for."
