Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Australia · 2024

Australian government rejects claim that 25 million carbon credits are worthless

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 4 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Australian government rejected a claim that 25 million ACCU carbon credits are worthless. Whether the credits protect forests that would otherwise be cleared is the question for nature, and the sources reviewed do not settle it.

What?
The Australian government rejected a claim that 25 million ACCU carbon credits are worthless. QCI
Where?
Australia QCI
When?
A 2024 study is cited in the sources; the date of the government's rejection is not given. Australian National University
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Carbon credits issued under the ACCU scheme; QCI reported that HIR offsets had limited impact. QCI
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

QCI reported that the Australian government rejected a claim that 25 million ACCU carbon credits are worthless.

QCI also reported that Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) offsets had limited impact.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 2024 study by Macintosh and colleagues found cover change in 182 regeneration schemes matched neighbouring areas, and that about 90% of offset demand could not be met.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the New South Wales Audit Office reported similar findings, as relayed by RenewEconomy.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Macintosh called the method fraud and said credits were given to avoid cutting forests that would never be cut.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a critics' calculation put the default clearing rate 751% to 12,804% above historical rates; the regulator rejected it.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the rejected claim concerned avoided-deforestation credits or regeneration credits.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the developers or buyers of the credits in this case.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
    Offset
    Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
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