Australia: Natives need to beware of Carbonbaggers

newly created Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce has urged
Indigenous communities to be wary of entering any agreements. The
Labor party’s former national president Warren Mundine now heads the
new body, which was set up to advise Indigenous communities on how to
navigate the complex issue of emissions trading. He says the scheme
has the potential to generate investment and jobs for Indigenous
communities which own vast tracts of land across Australia.

“They
control 20 per cent of the Australian land mass… this is a great
opportunity for them to get 20 per cent of the emissions trading,” he
said. “What we want to do is make sure the Indigenous community have
the opportunity to make an informed decision and that informed
decision can only be made on the science, on the economics and on the
law,” he said. Mr Mundine says he has concerns about the legitimacy of
some agreements. “There are what we call a lot of carbon-baggers out
there who are trying to take advantage of Indigenous communities and
the ignorance in this area,” he said. Mr Mundine says the chamber
wants to ensure Indigenous interests are protected before the scheme
comes into force in 2010. He has urged people to have any agreements
examined by the chamber, which he says can help deliver maximum
benefits for the long term. “There’s opportunities for them to make
money out of that in the trading,” he said. “There’s also the
opportunities for regenerating their county … there’s also the
opportunities for lands that don’t meet that criteria … that they’re
able to look at renewable energy such as biofuels, solar energy and
wind farming.” http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5213684/indigenous-communities-warned-over-carbonbaggers/

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