Please join the Melbourne Centre for Law and the Environment for this seminar on ‘Safeguarding the Fossil Fuel Industry: How Carbon Offsetting Undermines Australia’s Flagship Climate Policy’, presented by Associate Professor Fergus Green and chaired by Professor Rebecca Nelson.

The Federal Government is about to review its key climate policy for reducing emissions from large industrial polluters outside of the electricity sector—the Safeguard Mechanism. The scheme allows big emitters to meet their obligations using an unlimited amount of so-called ‘offsets’, but critics argue those offsets lack integrity. Consequently, questions are being asked about whether the scheme is actually reducing emissions, or just allowing fossil fuel companies to keep polluting.

In this lecture, Dr Fergus Green, Associate Professor at University College London and Honorary Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School will share insights from his recent report for The Australia Institute, and his ongoing research and advocacy, on this subject. The session will explore how the Safeguard Mechanism is failing to drive the structural decarbonisation of Australia’s industries, the problems with so-called offsets, and the international legal and reputational risks for Australia. Fergus will also share his experiences of advocating for law reform on this topic in Canberra

Light refreshments provided from 3.45pm.

Online attendance also supported.