Koala Park Carbon Credits in NSW May Leak Emissions by Funding Government While Private Logging Continues

A carbon analyst has raised concerns that koala park carbon credits in New South Wales are effectively paying the state government while private native forestry continues on adjacent land. This creates a carbon leakage problem where credits are issued for protecting one area but emissions from logging shift elsewhere, undermining the climate benefit. The article explains that the structure of these credits may not deliver real additional carbon sequestration because the government is both the recipient of credit revenue and the regulator of forestry. Without clear rules to prevent displacement of logging, the credits risk being little more than a budget transfer. For carbon market participants, this case highlights the importance of checking for leakage risk in any forest-based offset project. If logging activity can simply move to another property, the claimed emissions reductions may not be real.