As we face escalating climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and the decline of ecosystem health, governments and communities are struggling to find sufficient responses. While the science is uniquivocal - our future depends on reducing emissions and increasing nature restoration this decade - there is much debate about different policy responses. In this webinar, we scrutinize carbon and nature offsets: we explore what they are, how they operate and whether they can achieve emission reductions and nature restoration.
We will look at the science, law and policy aspects of these market based approaches to environmental policy, discuss how they are currently operating, and what future plans are in Australia.
Our knowledgeable panel of experts will examine carbon and nature offsets and ask if they have the capacity to support life on earth, or simply accelerate ecocide.
ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKERS
BRENDAN MACKEY
Professor Brendan Mackey is Director of the Griffith Climate Action Beacon, Griffith Climate Change Response Program, and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University. He has a PhD in ecology from ANU (Australian National University). Brendan has published extensively in the fields of climate change research, forest ecology and other topics in natural sciences, and was a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Working Group II - impacts, vulnerability & adaptation.
CHRISTINE MILNE
Christine Milne AO served as a Senator for Tasmania and was the leader of the parliamentary caucus of the Australian Greens from 2012 to 2015. Christine played a high profile role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its environmental impact. She also participated in the successful campaign opposing the Franklin Dam.
ROB WHITE
Rob White is Adjunct (Distinguished Professor) at the University of Tasmania. He has written extensively about green criminology, eco-justice and climate politics. Among his recent books are Climate Change Criminology (Bristol University Press, 2018), The Extinction Curve (with John van der Velden, Emerald Press, 2021) and Theorising Green Criminology (Routledge, 2022).
MICHELLE MALONEY - moderator and AELA National Convenor
Dr Michelle Maloney (BA/LLB(Hons),PhD) is Co-Founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA). Michelle is also Adjunct Senior Fellow, Law Futures Centre, Griffith University; and Director of the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) and Future Dreaming Australia. She advocates for systems change, in order to shift industrialised societies from a human-centred, to an Earth centred governance system.
ABOUT AELA
The Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) works to promote the understanding and practical implementation of Earth-centred governance, with a focus on creating systems change and transforming law, economics, education and ethics in Australia.
AELA's ECOCIDE WORKING GROUP
AELA supports (i) volunteers contributing to the work of Stop Ecocide International and (ii) a working group of lawyers and experts exploring what ecocide laws would look like - and the impact they might have - in Australia.
Email: aela@earthlaws.org.au