New threatened species strategy won t overcome Australia s appalling record, campaigners say msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Australia to reward environmental protection
The Guardian
Australian Minister of Agriculture David Littleproud, has said Australian business is “hungry” to pay farmers to protect biodiversity under a “world-first” scheme designed to reward environmental improvements alongside emissions reduction.
Last week’s federal budget included funding for a multistage agriculture biodiversity stewardship package that aims to make it attractive for farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lift biodiversity protection on their land.
The goal in part is to create a climate and environment policy that appeals to farmers, and would not be criticized by Coalition lawmakers otherwise opposed to steps to reduce emissions.
Speaking on the ABCâs RN Breakfast on Tuesday, Littleproud said Australia would be the first jurisdiction in the world to measure and reward improvement in biodiversity on farming land.
He said it would offer farmers who had been approved to generate carbon credits through projects to reduce emissions â such as restoring or not removing vegetation â an extra upfront premium payment for additional steps that also emphasised biodiversity protection.
It could require them to plant a mix of species consistent with the landscape, and manage and look after the vegetation.
One of the architects of the scheme, the Australian National University environmental policy specialist Prof Andrew Macintosh, said it was expected the carbon credits would be attractive to companies that wanted to buy them as offsets and also be able to say they were helping to look after the natural environment.
(Image: Unsplash/veeterzy)
While much of the media continues to perpetuate the fake Morrison inching toward climate action narrative, last night s budget confirms how committed the government is to backing its fossil fuel donors and how little it is doing on climate action.
The government had already announced its new handout for fossil fuel companies that pay the Coalition hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in donations: $263 million to be given to fossil fuel companies for the fraud of carbon capture and storage projects. But the budget papers revealed more giveaways to the fossil fuel sector. According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, the government will also hand $58.6 million to the gas industry for gas infrastructure and storage, as well as over $200 million to upgrade Northern Territory roads near gas projects.