The Green Party says the Government’s newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn’t undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government.

“This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing,” says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel.

“While credit schemes and covenants are an important pathway to protecting vital biodiversity on farmland, these alone are not nearly enough to address the biodiversity crisis in Aotearoa.

“One tiny step in the right direction does not make up for the significant damage this Government is doing to the environment in many ways including through cuts to the Predator Free programme, Department of Conservation funding, significant natural area identification, and Jobs for Nature.

“You cannot pretend to care for biodiversity while openly making policy that destroys it, targeting wetlands as a cash cow through tax deductibility, weakening or removing protections for freshwater, and allowing significant pollution to be permitted in our most vulnerable waterways.

“Furthermore, market and corporate driven biodiversity credits can be little more than a greenwashing tool - and there's proven to be very little demand without regulatory requirements for them.

“Protecting biodiversity is in everyone’s interests, especially farmers. Our Green Budget proposed significant investment in supporting landowners to protect and restore their environments, rather than leaving it to the corporate world to pick up the slack in light of extensive government cuts,” says Steve Abel.

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