[Greens-Media] Greens MP calls on Government to reprioritise Soil Carbon Sequestration

[Scott Hickie]

Ian Cohen MLC
Media Release                                                          
          
19th November 2008

Greens MP calls on Government to reprioritise Soil Carbon
Sequestration

Greens MP Ian Cohen, in coincidence with this week’s Soil Carbon
Expo, is calling upon the Minister for Primary Industries to cull
government funding for the Clean Coal fund and reinject the funds into
soil carbon sequestration and agricultural based GHG emission reduction
projects. 

“Last week I put a motion before the Legislative Council that the NSW
Government acknowledge the emission reduction capacity of New South
Wales’ agricultural sector and start prioritising this sector instead
of subsidising clean coal projects” says Mr Cohen. 

“NSW Department of Primary Industries has provided $500,000 to the
National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research compared with $50
million dollars already committed for clean coal projects in NSW.”  

“Why is the NSW Government disproportionately subsidising Clean Coal
research for companies awash with record profits off the back of a
sustained resource boom while leaving the agricultural sector, battling
through an extended drought, with bread crumbs.” 

“Some of the world's leading soil scientists suggest that more
regenerative farming and grazing practices in Australia would sequester
upwards of 927 million tonnes of CO2 a year and that such practices on 5
per cent of Australia's grazing land could offset this country's total
greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Instead of acknowledging my repeated calls for increased funding in
Parliament, the Minister has closed the Glenn Innes research facility
which has undertaken extensive research into soil carbon and crop
rotation.” 

“If Alberta, Canada, home of the environmentally damaging Oil Sands
can introduce a voluntary carbon offset market which includes 9
different agricultural emission reduction methods, then NSW can surely
do the same. Albertan farmers who have adopted reduced tillage practices
to reduce CO2 release from soils into the atmosphere have received
$6,000 dollars on average from a carbon purchase agreement with a
provincial electricity generator EPCOR.” 






Scott Hickie
Adviser to Ian Cohen MLC
Macquarie Street, Sydney, 2000
Tel: +61-2-9230 2204, 
Fax: +61-2-9230 2267
Mobile: 0404 490 566
Web: www.iancohen.org.au