SINCE Government has enacted a carbon tax;

AND SINCE Government is desirous of providing a flexibility mechanism that will enable industry to deliver least cost mitigation, being mitigation at a lower cost to what would be achieved in their own operations, and thereby lower their tax liability;

AND SINCE Government is desirous to incentivise mitigation in economic sectors or in relation to activities that are not directly subject to the carbon tax or benefiting from other government incentives;

THEREFORE Government is desirous of providing an offset mechanism that may be utilised to develop carbon offset projects to enable reduction in respect of carbon tax liability.

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY Regulation as follows—