NSW Greens MP, environment spokesperson and environmental lawyer, Sue Higginson has responded to the Australian Greens’ decision to oppose the Senate disallowance motion against the Improved Native Forest Management carbon credit methodology.
“This decision has been one of the most difficult that we have faced. Good people with the best intent have reached different opinions on this. We respect each other, must hold together, and move forward in our shared fight for forests, the environment and climate. We can’t afford to stop.”
“The Minns Labor Government has already broken its promise when it comes to the Great Koala National Park. It spent two years in Government intensely logging these most valuable forests, and has now blackmailed the environment and climate movement into reluctantly accepting that there will be climate pollution offsets attached to their protection.”
“The Greens have secured significant wins as part of this decision. We have guaranteed that credits from INFM projects won’t be sold to fossil fuel projects, logging will completely end in large areas, there will be a permanent overall reduction in logging, and the definition of plantations will be made clear to exclude seeded forests. We fought for these changes because we refused to allow the protection of public forests to become a blank cheque for coal and gas.”
“The carbon market in Australia is fundamentally broken, and the Greens have consistently dragged Labor kicking and screaming to better climate outcomes. This fight goes on. We must now turn our full attention to the weak and fraudulent offsets that are already flooding the market, and demand hard caps on the number of credits that can be generated and used by the biggest climate polluters.”
“The Minns Labor Government now has the tool it said it needed to finalise the formal creation of the Great Koala National Park. Any further delay is entirely in its control. We have given them all the rope they need to get on with the work.”
“The job of the Greens now is to end native forest logging, fight like hell to reform the dodgy climate-polluting carbon market, and hold Labor to account for its ongoing destruction of the environment and its consistent approvals of new fossil fuel projects in NSW and across Australia. But today is a genuine win for our forests and all of the wildlife that depend on them.” Ms Higginson said.
