Environment groups are calling on New South Wales Labor not to implement the federal Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme as part of the Improved Native Forest Management plan.

Wilderness Australia director Virginia Young told Green Left that carbon offset schemes have been used to delay real action on climate and that “We need to actually reduce emissions, not offset them.”

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Young said the scheme would lead to 60–80% of Australia’s emission reduction targets being delivered through offsets, rather than real reductions in greenhouse gases.

She said governments are “overreliant” on offsets to meet their emissions reduction targets and that Australia is one of the worst.

Research for Climate Analytics found that Australia is on par with Kazakhstan as one of those most reliant on offsets, such as tree planting and forest regeneration. “Offsets should be part of a short-term transition plan while moving away from fossil fuels and decarbonising,” Young said.

Europe and China have tight restrictions on land sector and forest offsets, Young said, but they are the........

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