15. NGERS into NCOS?

Problem: The Direct Action market may become too small to absorb Australia’s agricultural offsets. Practical solution:  The majority of entities caught up in the previous Government’s major carbon tax net (emitting 25,000+ tonnes of carbon annually) were reported to be in favour of there being a price on carbon when it was first imposed. This goodwill might be used as a platform to encourage emitters to aspire to “Carbon Neutral” status via the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS). The program needs attention. It charges an outrageous amount of money (up to $25,000) for use of the NCOS logo to publicise the entity’s involvement. It has not invested sufficiently in building awareness of the program or the logo for enrollees to derive value from it. This is a major disincentive. The Government could encourage Direct Action by individuals and corporations by operating a system of recognition: publish the list annually; publicise new additions; stage an award system; etc. This system could be made more significant were the offsets earned by entities covered by the NGERS or opting into it able to be counted towards our national target of 5% below 2000 levels by 2020.