Western Australia’s Greens have criticized a decision by the federal party room not to support a motion that would have disallowed a carbon credit method allowing governments to generate offsets from changes to planned logging of public native forests.
The Greens (WA) said the federal party room’s decision means the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method will remain in place. The party had urged federal colleagues in recent weeks to back the disallowance motion.
Under the method, state governments can voluntarily stop planned logging of public native forests and generate carbon credits as a result. Those credits can then be bought by industrial companies seeking to offset their emissions, according to the Greens.
WA Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John was among senators who voted for the disallowance motion, alongside Senators Nick McKim and Vanessa Bleyer, the party said.
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The Greens (WA) argue that the system could allow companies to continue emitting greenhouse gases (GHG) while relying on forest-based credits to compensate for those emissions.
The party estimates the INFM method could generate as many as 1.5 million carbon credits, which it says would be enough to offset all of emissions reported under Australia’s safeguard mechanism by national oil and gas major Woodside.
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Jess Beckerling, the Greens (WA) forests and woodlands spokesperson, said the party’s opposition was based on its policy against offsets that extend GHG emissions.
“Offsets do not work to bring down carbon pollution,” Beckerling said. “In fact, they have been shown over and again to prolong the use of fossil fuels.”
She argued that forests should instead be protected for their biodiversity, cultural and intrinsic values, warning that managing them primarily as carbon stores could create unintended consequences, including pressure for increased prescribed burning.
The Greens said they would continue opposing offsets and advocating for native forests to be protected for their broader environmental values rather than their potential value as tradable carbon assets.
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