The Bligh Government’s new vehicle for voluntary carbon offsets is officially up and running with an electricity Government Owned Corporation giving it a $750,000 kick-start.
Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said, ahead of her Budget Estimates hearing, Queenslanders would gain a new national park from the payment to carbon and environmental offsets provider Ecofund.
She said Powerlink had led the way in good corporate citizenship in Queensland on climate change and others should follow suit.
“This should be the first of many major contributions from companies and will significantly help the Bligh Government meet its target of 20 million hectares of protected areas by 2020,” Ms Jones said.
“It will also help us reach our target of increasing Queensland’s national park estate by 50 per cent to 12.9 million hectares by 2020.”
“Of Powerlink’s total contribution, $350,000 will be directed towards the purchase of a new national park.
“And through a two-for-one funding deal from the Rudd Government currently on the table, it is likely more than $1 million will be available to purchase a property of considerable biodiversity value to Queensland. We are currently in the final stages of identifying suitable properties to purchase in consultation with the Commonwealth.”
Powerlink Chief Executive Gordon Jardine said Powerlink was enthusiastic about the Ecofund model and the leveraging obtained on this occasion.
In addition to Powerlink’s contribution to the purchase of the property, Powerlink had also purchased air travel and vehicle fleet offsets from Ecofund, as well as green electricity for its premises.
“We’ve purchased 7,404 tonnes of carbon offsets as part of our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from air and vehicle travel undertaken by our employees,” Mr Jardine said.
“The travel offsets alone are equivalent to protecting 9.03 hectares of forest, powering 951 Queensland homes with clean energy or removing 1,898 family-sized cars from our roadways for 12 months.”
Ms Jones said Ecofund had provided trading services for Powerlink’s offsets to support Queensland-based projects.
“Ecofund supports a range of offset projects, including gas flaring and energy efficiency projects,” she said.
“Gas flaring projects play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing and destroying methane.
“Methane is 21 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide emissions and by avoiding its release into the atmosphere we can prevent negative impacts on the environment and help protect the lifestyle of Queenslanders.
“I applaud Powerlink for investing in credible offset products and leading the way in carbon reduction and I encourage other Queensland businesses to think about how they can also help make positive impacts on our environment using Ecofund.”
Ms Jones said Powerlink had also purchased 4835MWh of GreenPower Renewable Energy Certificates from Ecofund to offset 50 percent of its electricity consumption.
“By purchasing accredited GreenPower through this program, Powerlink is investing in Queensland’s renewable energy sector through supporting a Queensland wind-based project,” she said.
Mr Jardine said Powerlink had a long history of successfully meeting the environmental challenges inherent in developing, operating and maintaining Queensland’s high voltage electricity grid.
“We view a ‘pooled fund’ model, such as Ecofund, as the most environmentally beneficial and efficient approach to environmental offsets - where companies can provide funding and the offsets work is undertaken by environmental professionals,” Mr Jardine said.
“Working with the Queensland Government and Ecofund enables us to make a positive contribution to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions with the added bonus of investing in projects based in our own backyard, allowing us to act locally to help address a global problem.”
Ecofund Queensland is a not-profit seeking innovative advisory and trading service that specialises in the carbon offset, renewable energy and environmental offsets market. Ecofund has been established to encourage local carbon industry development and support positive environmental outcomes for Queensland, investing in projects including energy efficiency, renewable energy and biodiverse forestry. It provides innovative solutions and expert advice to assist Government, business and individuals to meet their sustainability objectives through ethical sourcing and trading of carbon and environmental offsets. It is initially servicing Government departments, Government Owned Corporations, local government and other Government bodies. It plans to expand its operations to the private sector and households later this year.
21 July, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT: Joshua Cooney 3336 8004 or 0409 069 056
Other languages