Koala Sanctuary Gets Green Light: Carbon Credit Deal to Protect 12,000 Koalas

The Australian government has given the go-ahead for a new national park in New South Wales, which will provide a safe haven for approximately 12,000 koalas and over 100 other threatened species. The park, which has been in the works for over a decade, will span 176,000 hectares near Coffs Harbour and will help to preserve old-growth forests. The project has been made possible by a contentious carbon credit deal, which will allow the state government to receive hundreds of millions of dollars for protecting native forests that were previously earmarked for logging. Each carbon credit represents one kilogram of emissions that has been prevented or removed from the atmosphere, and can be sold to polluting companies to offset their emissions. While some conservation groups have welcomed the move, others have expressed concerns that the carbon credit scheme will allow big emitters to continue polluting while appearing to reduce their emissions. The state environment minister, Penny Sharpe, has said that the revenue generated from the carbon credits will benefit regional communities by creating new jobs and diversified revenue streams. The final design of the carbon credit method aims to prevent logging from being ramped up in other areas, by reducing and capping the amount of logging allowed as carbon credits are issued. The decision has been met with a mixed response from conservation organisations, with some hailing it as a gamechanger and others opposing the use of carbon credits. The Wilderness Society has argued that the scheme will allow big emitters to continue polluting, while the Nature Conservation Council has welcomed the inclusion of strong safeguards to prevent logging and clearing from simply shifting elsewhere.