Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:
The Rudd Governments plans to meet its commitments under the recently ratified Kyoto protocol have been dealt a potentially lethal financial blow.
The Federal and ultimately the High Court of Australia is now to rule on whether the Commonwealth can use the 80 million tonnes of Carbon Credits accumulated from land clearing bans.
It had been the previous coalition governments intention and by default the Rudd governments plan to meet it’s commitments to limit the nation’s Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2008-2012 to the Kyoto Target of an 8% increase above the levels achieved in 1990, by using these accumulated credits without paying farmers for them.
The Federal Court in Sydney in December last year agreed that farmers have an arguable case against the Commonwealth over ownership of the 80 million Tonnes of carbon created from land clearing bans.
The credits will single handedly enabled the Commonwealth to meet its Kyoto commitments. The value of those credits has been estimated by leading authorities at $10.8 billion dollars.
The legal right of the Commonwealth to use those credits is now in question and is to be decided by the courts.
Peter King, Barrister for the New South Wales farmer Peter Spencer who is challenging the Commonwealth on ownership of the carbon in the trees said in a statement “This is the first occasion in Australian legal History that it has been found there was an ‘arguable case’ against the Commonwealth by farming interests that the Kyoto Protocol may give rise to property rights”
Now the court has given Mr Spencer the Green light to file a “notice of motion” which is an injunction to stop the Commonwealth from entering into any carbon trading scheme, until the case is decided.
Mr Spencer (pictured) with the support of action group Commonwealth Property Protection Association has long maintained that the Federal & State Governments have worked hand in hand through the Native Vegetation Clearing restrictions to create huge carbon sinks on farmers properties.
Until now the Government had planned to use the carbon credits created by those “sinks” to offset its Greenhouse Gas Emissions and meet it Kyoto commitments at no cost to itself. Thats now in doubt.
Justin Sherrard and Alan Tate in a report to the Australian Emissions Trading Forum in December 2006 entitled “Australia’s Farmers Miss Out on $billions” stated:
“Through reducing land clearing Australia’s farmers are carrying virtually the entire load of reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Kyoto target. Yet their efforts, worth billions of dollars, have not been recognized nor financially rewarded.”
Their report, assesses the extent and value of rural sector emission reductions being achieved and how these could benefit the hard pressed farming community.
“If farmers had not achieved these dramatic emissions reductions, to meet its target the Government would be obliged to fund alternative activities to reduce emissions, or to pay other countries or companies to reduce emissions on Australia’s behalf………. The value of emissions reductions achieved by farmers by restricting land clearing is $10.8 billion, according to our assessment.”
Mr Spencer backed by hundreds of farmers in New South Wales and Queensland where the emissions reductions achieved are largely the result of the tough land clearing laws imposed in those two States, wants compensation for farmers lost property rights and the carbon credits.
The application for the injunction is set down for hearing on the 2nd of April. However Mr Spencer’s barrister Peter King has just requested that it be moved forward on the basis of fresh evidence that has just come to hand that further supports his clients case.
Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong (pictured) is declining to comment as the case is before the court.
Tags: Property Rights
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