David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Following on from my comments earlier, one of my big concerns is the reliance on the land sector and offsetting. I have had concerns raised with me by farmers. Some farmers, who do have carbon projects generating ACCUs, are saying that they would prefer not to have to sell their ACCUs to fossil fuel companies who are making their lives harder and risking their family farming operations. And, earlier today, the National Farmers Federation put out a media release titled Safeguard mechanism needs to be safe for agriculture,and to quote the CEO, Tony Mahar:

The safeguard mechanism will turbo charge demand for offsets, and with few other options on the table, emitters will look to farmland.

Agriculture is a truly hard to abate sector, unlike fossil fuels. We have alternatives for them, particularly new fossil fuel projects—there is no real argument for them. Farmers who wish to offset their own emissions, or 'inset' their emissions, are concerned about competing with fossil fuel companies for offsets, offsets that will most likely come from the land sector. We've seen farmers having to compete with fossil fuel companies for water during drought. They simply don't have the same budgets and the same access to capital. What reassurance can the government give that farmers will not suffer in the long-term as a result of the high offset prices due to huge demand from fossil fuel companies?