Carbon credits generated by the Great Koala National Park will be used for targeted manufacturing industries in NSW \u2013 and not coal and gas projects \u2013 amid outrage from workers over an end to native forest logging in the 476,000ha nature reserve. <\/p>\n
About 300 employees across six timber mills on the NSW Mid-North Coast were thrown into chaos late last year when the NSW government announced the long-awaited boundaries of the park and an immediate moratorium on native forest logging there. <\/p>\n
A further 32 jobs are expected to be cut at the Coffs Harbour office of Forestry NSW \u2013 which manages state-owned forests \u2013 while union and industry groups warn the impact on workers across the wider hardwood supply chain could be much higher. <\/p>\n
In a statement, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) \u2013 an emissions offset generated by governments, including by ending native forest logging \u2013 from the park would \u201cnot be able to be sold to coal and gas projects\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Great Koala National Park Project is approved by the Clean Energy Regulator, the NSW government will prioritise these ACCUs for targeted manufacturing industries in NSW,\u201d Ms Sharpe said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will help to support crucial NSW industries to transition into the future and maintain vital jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Revenue from the park\u2019s carbon credits will also help fund ongoing land management, the government said. <\/p>\n
Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation and former Treasury secretary Ken Henry welcomed the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepairing and protecting the magnificent nature of the Great Koala National Park is a tremendous legacy to leave to our children and grandchildren. Doing it in a financially sustainable manner is even more powerful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPremier Minns and Minister Sharpe are helping to end the false dichotomy that pits nature and the economy against one another. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is well crafted policy that resources the protection and repair of nature while also encouraging carbon abatement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once complete, the park will use 176,000ha of state forest to create a 476,000ha reserve, one of the largest in NSW. <\/p>\n
While the final borders had been the subject of years of advocacy by activists, the park\u2019s delivery had also hinged on factors including a decision by the independent Emissions Assurance Reduction Committee to approve the \u201cImproved National Forest Management\u201d method for ACCUs.<\/p>\n
Under the framework, state and territory governments can generate carbon credits by reducing or permanently halting commercial timber harvesting in native forest logging. <\/p>\n
Nature Conservation Council of NSW senior forest campaigner Clancy Barnard said the group had \u201cinitially opposed the INFM method because of serious concerns it would enable ongoing logging\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter sustained advocacy, the method has been improved substantially,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cDeferred harvesting was removed, safeguards were added to stop logging simply shifting elsewhere or occurring under other guises, and the NSW government has now committed that credits from the Great Koala National Park will not be sold to coal and gas companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Barnard said there was a chance to use the method to end native forest logging altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be a huge win for nature, protecting koalas, greater gliders, wombats, ancient trees and the water catchments communities rely on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would also deliver a real reduction in climate pollution. Logging releases carbon into the atmosphere, and ending it allows forests to sequester more carbon out of harm\u2019s way in their wood and soils. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnder this method, about one-quarter of the carbon saved during the first 15 years would be sold as credits, with the remaining three-quarters being real emissions reductions. <\/p>\n
We remain opposed to policies that allow companies to buy offsets instead of reducing their own pollution, but the use of credits by genuinely hard-to-abate industries is a different proposition from selling them to coal and gas companies to support further fossil fuel expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the NSW government announced it had submitted the park to the Clean Energy Regulator.<\/p>\n
The federal government body must approve the park before it can be legislated in NSW parliament, where Labor has a majority in the lower house.<\/p>\n
If successful, the park\u2019s registration will trigger a permanent cessation of native forest logging in the park area. <\/p>\n
However, the project has faced pushback from workers. <\/p>\n
Timber, Furnishing, and Textiles Union NSW secretary Alison Rubman said the government\u2019s pledge was \u201cof little comfort to timber workers, their families and communities\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NSW government\u2019s Great Koala National Park carbon method is a lemon that is unlikely to produce any meaningful money,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cScientists and carbon accounting experts have already raised significant concerns that there are fundamental flaws in the scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government should withdraw this dud and stop promising money that is unlikely to be there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe principle of the announcement is right, but towns like Herons Creek deserve real support, not promises built on Monopoly money.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carbon credits generated by the Great Koala National Park will be used for targeted manufacturing industries in 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