Contrary to the legal method requirements, 95% of credited area cells are located on land that has not previously been comprehensively cleared, meaning the projects are trying to regenerate native forests on uncleared land which may have never contained forests.
Dr Megan Evans from UNSW Canberra, stated that the findings highlight a significant missed opportunity to restore previously cleared biodiversity-rich woodlands and forests via legitimate carbon offset projects:
“A decade ago, there was great hope that carbon markets could cost-effectively restore biodiversity where it has been destroyed by clearing, largely in Australia’s agricultural zones. Now, we’re seeing that 95% of the places being paid to restore forests occur in largely remote inland areas that have never actually been cleared of forests. Our new findings point to such huge failures that it’s almost beyond belief. Unfortunately, we expect that government and industry will simply respond by saying we’ve got it wrong, we’ve used the wrong data, and continue to deny there is a problem.”
Great hope among the very naive.
It seems its been a failure to oversee market operation with an effective organisation in the position of market regulator.
Just think of the price these schemes could be demanding per tonne now if there was widespread trust in the system reliably delivering its proposed benefits.
In so many cases these great ideas are let down by a lack of knowledge or care about the effectiveness of well implemented and ongoing institutional regulation.
