– CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY –

Keynote speech by GreenCollar Chief Scientist, Dr Jenny Sinclair
2023 Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Good afternoon and welcome. As I begin, I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land – the Gadigal people of the Ēora Nation – and acknowledge Elders, past, present, and emerging.

Keeping trees in the ground – it’s a straightforward concept for everyone attending an annual emissions reduction summit.

Looking around, I think we can be reasonably confident that everyone in this room understands that global deforestation is one of the main drivers of the climate catastrophe.  So we know the world needs to keep trees in the ground.

I’m also sure that, throughout the day, you have been talking about the need to rapidly decarbonize, how to reduce emissions, deploy technology, and find innovative pathways to net zero. Having discussions about what can be done, how we make it more rigorous and efficient, and how we can accelerate the pace are all very important.

Amongst all of this, I do wonder how much discussion has focused on how we reduce Australia’s second-largest source of carbon emissions.  How much discussion have you had today about how we reduce the emissions caused by land clearing and deforestation? How much have you been talking about the opportunity to build carbon sinks through reforestation?

Last year, Australia became a founding member of the Forests and Climate Leaders partnership, an international group dedicated to accelerating the contribution of forests to global climate action. The partnership is dedicated to advancing the Glasgow Leaders Declaration which commits Australia to halting and reversing forest loss and degradation by 2030. Now only 2301 days away, as we heard this morning.

Over the last few months, several Australian states have released their annual land-clearing data sets. This data shows that clearing continues at a large scale across many parts of Australia and that thousands upon thousands of hectares continue to be cleared each month.

Off the back of this data, WWF released its Trees Scorecard in July. This scorecard assesses how all jurisdictions are performing in forest protection and restoration. It rated both New South Wales and Queensland as “very poor”, at the bottom of the barrel.  They found that New South Wales has just 36 percent of its original forests and woodlands remaining. Queensland performed only marginally better with about 50 percent remaining.

This is an image [on the screen above me] of what land clearing looks like in many parts of Australia – in this case, native woodlands in western New South Wales – important carbon sinks and home to a vast array of biodiversity. State datasets show that land-clearing hotspots in both New South Wales and Queensland are in this type of landscape.

The situation is dire. Australia has lost 50 per cent of its forests since European colonization. It is the only developed nation to sit among the 24 identified global deforestation hotspots. Despite this, the Avoided Deforestation method was recently revoked with nothing to replace it and media debate continues, at pace, about the legitimacy of approaches that, in effect, reimburse people for choosing to keep trees in the ground.  This is not how I envisaged Australia would go about accelerating the contribution of forests to climate action.

The reality is there wouldn’t be so much conjecture about the pros and cons of vegetation-based carbon methods if we could just clearly state the science, supported of course by evidence.

I’m sure you are all acutely aware of the reporting in the news cycle of ever-increasing heat and extreme weather conditions. We’ve just emerged from the hottest July on record, have we not? I’m sure you all see the escalation of language and the rapidly increasing urgency in the calls for action from the UN Secretary-General and others.

Surely, over the last decade, the vast amounts of data, research, and analysis have provided us with more information than ever, providing a powerful basis on which to take informed, highly effective action. But as we saw through COVID-19, poor science communication can create uncertainty and fear, leading to misunderstanding, even conspiracy theories, and driving people to make decisions that forsake science.  Ultimately, this can lead to perverse outcomes, like losing time ‘debating’ when we should be ‘acting’.

Acting! to protect our trees.  Not only is land clearing a major contributing factor to climate change, but it also has significant other environmental, social, and economic impacts.

• It is well documented that deforestation releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere by destroying vegetation that acts as a natural carbon sink.
• It destroys and fragments habitat, threatening biodiversity, leading to loss of wildlife and rapidly accelerating extinction rates.
• Deforestation accelerates erosion, leading to increasing pollution of waterways and the marine environment.
• It compromises the ecosystem services provided by intact vegetation, resulting in increasing dryland salinity and the frequency and severity of droughts.
• It also threatens indigenous connection to the country, placing traditional knowledge and heritage at risk.

This is not just an assertion.

For example, WWF’s 2021 Deforestation Fronts report found that forest destruction is a threat to more than 700 endangered Australian animals, which rely on native trees for food and shelter among their branches, as well as in tree hollows, which can take up to 250 years to form.

Anyone who knows me would understand how heartbreaking I find this statistic.

It is estimated that Australia’s remaining forests store 22 billion tonnes of carbon in their trunks, leaves, and roots and that bulldozing them releases approximately 24 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere each year. In fact, in the time it takes me to deliver this message to you more than 450 tonnes of carbon will be released.

Science tells us that if we want to reduce carbon emissions, there are lots of things we can do, and one with a significant impact is to keep the trees in the ground. Another is to restore forests. Both of these, we can act on today.

This image that you see not only represents what deforestation looks like in many parts of Australia but sadly, it also represents a failed carbon project opportunity.

This now-cleared area is on a property where GreenCollar had been working with a landholder to develop a carbon project that would protect the trees for 100 years. But with the revocation of the Avoided Deforestation method and nothing to replace it, combined with the current commentary around carbon vegetation methods, the opportunity was lost and the landholder reverted to ‘Plan A’. This was a simple business decision – without access to payment for preserving and protecting the trees through the generation of ACCUs, they defaulted to the traditional approach of clearing and grazing.

This is the consequence of failing to incentivize land managers who are looking for alternatives to land clearing.

Some would say “Regulate”, and make rules that force land managers to keep the trees. To use New South Wales as an example, since 1881, successive state governments have passed at least 28 pieces of legislation to restrict land clearing. Yet – still – the rate of land clearing is the highest it has ever been. My point is that history has shown us that legislation alone does not work.

Meanwhile, we are losing biodiversity at pace. In addition, we are losing public confidence in some of the essential measures we need to tackle climate change and the extinction crisis. We are losing the opportunity to develop and implement approaches that have strong scientific backing; to make mistakes – which are inevitable in any evolving system;  and to learn from them and refine them in a quest to achieve the best and most valuable outcome we possibly can.

Regulation is just one tool in the kit. It is clear that we also need other approaches if we are to succeed in reducing clearing and mitigating climate change. The scale of the problem demands that we come at it in many different ways.

We must acknowledge that private landholders own or manage more than 60 percent of the land on which our native forests sit. So if we are to successfully engage them in this effort, we must provide incentives that encourage the economic decision not to clear these critical forests, as well as to encourage private investors to act – to stop deforestation and to drive reforestation – today.

Environmental projects and environmental markets hold the power to do this, – today.

So, why the delay? Why can’t the obvious imperative to keep trees and forests provide us with enough impetus to fix this very worrying situation?  

In my view, we just need to go back to basics – we need to be clear and transparent about what we do know and what we don’t, what works and what doesn’t. We need to be clear about what carbon accounting can accomplish, and what it can’t. And as scientists, we need to work together to clearly explain, so any uncertainty can be accounted for.

As new technologies evolve and better data emerges, we need to ensure that there is built-in flexibility to harness innovation in carbon accounting methods. The need for innovation doesn’t mean that the system is flawed or the outcomes are wrong. It means that, at any point in time, we are working with the best available tools and knowledge.

Are we better off adapting and improving an existing method, for example, or abolishing it and starting from scratch? Either way, it is clear that we need to work together – we need to be prepared to invest the time and money to undertake the trials that are needed to prove and improve. This is science at work.

As a community, country, and world, we are at a turning point. Our physical world is demonstrating the consequences of our previous actions and ongoing inaction over and over again. World leaders are telling us of the increasing urgency and dire consequences if we don’t act now.

These are not just science projects for the sake of science. This is the golden opportunity for science and policy to collaborate to develop and deploy the tools that incentivize and embed land management change, halt deforestation and biodiversity loss, and ultimately provide the means for Australia to honour its international commitments.

 

New Ground-breaking Reef Credit Method for Grazing Land Management open for consultation

 

A new Grazing Land Management (GLM) Method that measures and values the reduction in sediment losses resulting from improved grazing land management has been published for public consultation under the Reef Credit Scheme. The proposed new Method will generate revenue for graziers that make changes to land management which result in reduced flow of fine sediment through to the Great Barrier Reef. Projects on any grazing land within the Great Barrier Reef catchments could be eligible to benefit. Here’s what you need to know about the Method and the opportunity.

What is a Reef Credit Method?

Methods are a fundamental element of all environmental markets. They prescribe the techniques used to measure and quantify outcomes from land management practices. They are a foundational tool for environmental markets like the Reef Credit Scheme, which aims to improve water quality at the Great Barrier Reef and are only approved after a detailed independent consultation and scientific peer review process. This ensures integrity of all credits produced under the Method.

How has the Grazing Land Management method been developed?

A unique and multiskilled partnership between GreenCollar, Verterra Ecological Engineering and AgriProve has brought together innovation, knowledge, and science, with experience in grazing land management, soil health, water quality and environmental markets to develop the Grazing Land Management Method. By working together to create the Method, the partners hope to deliver future opportunities for more land managers within the Reef catchments to undertake projects and generate revenue from Reef Credits. Importantly, the new Grazing Land Management Reef Credit Method has been developed to complement and work side by side with soil carbon crediting by improving soil carbon stores, as well as boosting grazing productivity from whole of property management planning.

How can the Grazing Land Management Method boost productivity?

Improved grazing land management offers multiple productivity, environmental, and agribusiness benefits, which is why this approach is promoted widely across the grazing industry. The new Method seeks to recognise the very real and important benefits improved grazing land management practice delivers for the health of the Reef and presents significant potential for land managers to boost revenue. By bringing together the complementary goals of improved pasture and soil health for graziers, and improved water quality for the Reef, the Grazing Land Management Method aims to incentivise and help graziers achieve a high level of ground cover before high intensity rainfall periods to reduce sediment run-off onto the Reef.

How does the Grazing Land Management Method work?

The proposed Method accounts for reductions in fine sediment losses that are achieved through improved grazing land management. Put simply, it uses historic measurements of sediment losses and tracks how changes in land management reduce the flow of sediment into waterways. After a series of accounting safeguards, independent audits and detailed reporting has been applied and verified, successful projects will be issued with Reef Credits for achieved reductions. Each Reef Credit is the equivalent of 538kgs of fine sediment prevented from flowing onto the Reef and, just like carbon credits, can be sold or traded to organisations that wish to support improvements in water quality.

What changes to land management need to occur?

The Method proposes that land managers develop a Grazing Land Management Plan which outlines their approach to improving grazing practice and soil health to increase ground cover, and ultimately reduce sediment run-off. Actions may include matching stocking rates to forage budgets and incorporating periods of rest. Infrastructure such as fencing and waterpoints may be incorporated, and up-to-date grazing charts must be provided to demonstrate that grazing practices align with increased ground cover and reduced sediment flow.

How are outcomes calculated?

The Grazing Land Management Method calculates the difference between historic and present-day sediment losses after land management changes have been implemented. Reporting periods are proposed to last between 12 months and five years, with changes in ground cover monitored monthly using remote sensing technology. 

What happens next?

EcoMarkets Australia, the independent administrator of the Reef Credit scheme, is managing the independent consultation and peer review process – a fundamental element in developing and approving new Reef Credit Methods. 

EcoMarkets Australia is accepting submissions throughout the public consultation period, which is due to end on 5th October 2023, after which the Method will be subject to independent scientific peer review.  

Following the consultation and peer review process EcoMarkets Australia will work with the Method authors to address feedback before the Method is formally approved and adopted under the Reef Credit Standard. Once passed, the Grazing Land Management Method will join the four existing pathways for land managers to get involved in the scheme which include:

• Managed Fertiliser Application
• Reduction in Sediment Run-off through Gully Rehabilitation
• Reduction of nutrient through Waste-Water Treatment
• Reduction in Nutrient Run-off through Constructed Wetlands (currently being finalised)

Find out more about the Grazing Land Management Method and consultation process here

Find out how to get involved in Reef Credits here

Media release: The first-of-its-kind group is seeking new partners to bolster the coalition’s goal to mobilize $20B annually by 2030 in support of IPLC efforts to combat the climate crisis.

The Peoples Forests Partnership – a major global initiative to rapidly scale up climate finance going directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) – has announced its first call for applications for members, ahead of COP27.

Launched in COP26, the Peoples Forests Partnership aims to use the voluntary carbon markets to assure equitable, accessible, and culturally appropriate investment partnerships with IPLCs to protect the environment, while setting the best-in-class standard for forest communities to engage with climate finance.

Launch of the Peoples Forests Partnership at COP26

 

The Peoples Forests Partnership is aiming to mobilize $20 billion annually by 2030 in direct private investment in community-driven forest conservation and restoration projects. Additional members will scale the finance needed to secure and protect IPLC lands and help countries achieve climate targets and commitments, working to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius alive.

IPLCs are the world’s most effective guardians against tropical deforestation, according to the UN. Yet, these communities receive virtually no financial support from the climate finance community for their efforts: less than 1% of Official Development Assistance for climate mitigation and adaptation reaches IPLCs, according to a recent study.

“We have much progress to make to ensure IPLCs can equitably access climate finance. We need access to more information to make decisions on our own terms. The current terms of exchange between IPLCs and many intermediaries are very disadvantageous to communities. Peoples Forests Partnership strives to preserve IPLCs’ culture and traditions in the face of their critical contributions to stopping climate change.” Gustavo Sánchez, Board of Directors of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB)

The voluntary carbon market can serve as a key tool to advance climate action, while supporting IPLC self-governance and land management. When designed in equitable partnership with IPLCs, carbon credits can ensure IPLCs receive direct and equitable access to climate finance and are able to preserve their rights, culture, and livelihoods at a scale necessary to battle our climate crisis.

“IPLCs are crucial to the preservation of nature, but there is insufficient understanding and appreciation of the value they bring to the protection of our forest ecosystems. Their contributions are not accurately reflected in market prices today. That needs to change. The Peoples Forests Partnership is an important step forward in this process,” said Mikkel Larsen, Chief Executive Officer of Climate Impact X.

The Peoples Forests Partnership is seeking applications from Indigenous organizations, conservation groups, companies, investors, and NGOs who support the growth of community-based carbon projects with their commitment to The Partnership’s principles.

Members will be selected based on criteria set forth by the Partnership’s executive committee that ensures equitable and high-integrity direct investment in community-based, forest carbon projects. The new members will join founding members including the National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC), the Mesoamerican Alliance of People and Forests (AMPB), RECOFTC, Forest Trends, the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development, Wildlife Works, Everland, and GreenCollar.

As members of the Peoples Forests Partnership, organizations will be part of the first IPLC-led global coalition to enable direct dialogue with IPLCs who want to engage in emissions reduction projects, through cross-sector and -cultural collaboration with high-quality projects, developers, and funders.

The executive committee, formed in June 2022, has 50% representation by Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ organizations and 50% women, reflecting the coalition’s commitment to ensuring equitable inclusion.

Organizations interested in joining the Peoples Forests Partnership are encouraged to review the application process on the Peoples Forests Partnership website. New membership commitments will be announced in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt at COP27 in November 2022.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• For enquiries about the Peoples Forests Partnership and the application process, contact: Carla Cardenas, Senior Manager, Peoples Forests Partnership & Climate Policy Advisor, Forest Trends / ccardenas@forest-trends.org
• Media contact: Jenny Muchnikoff, Senior Account Executive, Browning Environmental Communications / +1 (703) 945-9066 / jenny@browningenvironmental.com

Fire management is becoming a critical carbon abatement tool. An observable increase in bushfire intensity and rates of spread have been seen around Australia over the last decade. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, increases in monsoonal rainfall and increased storm activities in northern Australia have led to increased fuel growth and more incidents of fire ignition from lightning strikes. So reducing the impact of larger, more intense fire events, is of increasing importance, especially given their role as a significant carbon emitter.

Strategic fire management

Savanna burning projects aim to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emitted from wildfires. These projects work by burning in the early part of northern Australia’s dry season, from April to October. By burning in cooler, more controlled conditions, the frequency and extent of wildfire can be reduced, which means less emissions overall.

Many successful savanna fire management projects have been undertaken by Aboriginal groups and are the source of major Indigenous recruitment to the sector. The Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (ABCF) has reported that around 22 of total 78 savanna burning projects have been implemented with significant Aboriginal involvement.

The diversity of ways savanna burning occurs is indicative of the specialised knowledge project managers have about the country they’re working on. According to the CER, in the prescribed period, savanna burning projects may involve igniting fires from aircraft, from vehicles along the sides of roads and tracks, from boats on waterways, or by walking across country. There may also be other ACCU-generating, fire-limiting work done outside the prescribed burning period. These can include the construction and maintenance of firebreaks to limit the spread of bushfire and bushfire suppression during the fire season. Practices vary depending on landscape considerations such as fuel type and topography.

Quantifying and measuring

A common question people first ask when learning about savanna burning projects is: how are their benefits quantified? Firstly, activities that accrue ACCUs from savanna burning projects are assessed by two methodologies :

–       Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Sequestration and Emissions Avoidance) Methodology Determination 2018; and
–       Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Emissions Avoidance) Methodology Determination 2018.

The process of measuring activities is managed by the Savanna Burning Abatement Tool (SAVBAT 3), which automates GIS processes and calculations needed to estimate net abatement in accordance with the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).

Savanna burning is an important tool for carbon abatement and in turn, slowing down climate change. According to the ABCF, 70% of all ACCUs produced have been produced by Indigenous savanna burning projects. But just as important are the social benefits. Organisations such as ABCF are aiming to increase Aboriginal involvement in burning projects, not just in northern Australia, but around the world. Since the first savanna burning project was approved in 2012, savanna burning projects have been directing wealth generated by Aboriginal people back into Aboriginal communities through projects governed under the national ERF and Queensland government’s Land Restoration Fund (LRF).

At one time, carbon dioxide emissions were invisible — not just physically, but economically. But times have certainly changed. The effects of emissions are all too clear — the subject of global movements, of international agreements and a flurry of net-zero commitments from the world’s largest businesses. And in the last decade, the effects of carbon trading have been noticed too. Carbon trading or emissions trading schemes (ETS) are a way to measure and account for the cost of emissions. Their trade is a way to strengthen companies’ emissions reduction strategies by investing in carbon reduction projects.  

Counting Credits 

These tradable units are referred to as carbon credits (Australian Carbon Credit Units or ACCUs in Australia), and represent the one tonne of carbon dioxide or their greenhouse gas equivalent. While Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) represent one tonne of carbon emitted, because However, the precise monetary impact of this CO2 volume on the planet is difficult to define, so carbon pricing today is decided by either taxes or trading.  

The Market 

Australia’s current carbon crediting model is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and involves the exchange of ACCUs for the per-tonne abatement outcomes of verified carbon abatement projects. ACCUs are funded under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and sold from ACCU-generating carbon abatement projects to business wanting to offset their emissions. The market is largely voluntary, with businesses making commitments based on ESG and ‘net zero’ targets that deliver benefits to the planet and their brand. Though some of Australia’s larger emitters are required to offset emissions through the scheme’s Safeguard Mechanism. 

 The ERF 

Since 2012, applications for carbon abatement projects can be made through the ERF, a scheme overseen by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). If eligibility criteria are met (including accepted methodologies and reporting commitments), then an application can be made successfully. Participants with a registered project may then bid for a contract to sell their ACCUs to the CER, who will run auctions to select bidders according to price. Carbon credit income varies between projects and the CER favours projects that plan to deliver the most financially competitive outcomes, to maximise the amount of taxpayer-funded offsetting that can be achieved.  

Eligibility  

Importantly, eligibility for ACCU-generating projects is more varied than many land managers may realise, and include projects such as Avoided Clearing, Human Induced Regeneration, changes to land and livestock management as well as energy projects.  Apart from the significant financial reasons to create and sell carbon credits, these projects create a range of other on-farm and on-Country benefits, including increased soil and water health, improved productivity, enhanced biodiversity and a range of flow-on social benefits to regional communities.   

How to Start Trading 

Carbon credit investment can deliver significant benefits to a company. Some larger emitters are obligated to purchase credits in accordance with the CER’s Safeguard Mechanism, but for others the carbon market is voluntary, a way to meet their ESG commitments and deliver benefits to their brand.  

• The first way is to purchase credits is through the Emission Reduction Fund’s (ERF) project register, which outlines a number of projects for investors to choose from.  
• A second way is to contact projects and project facilitators through the Carbon Market Institute’s (CMI) marketplace.  
• As Australia’s largest environmental markets investor, GreenCollar also works directly with a number of land managers, Indigenous groups and Natural Resource Management organisations, all of which are generating ACCUs for purchase. For investors wanting high-quality, high-integrity and high-value returns, GreenCollar provide projects that offer comprehensive ESG benefits for companies.   

 The Greatest Good 

Monetary and productivity benefits for project managers and ESG benefits to investors are well documented. But the core of the scheme is to actually cost the carbon dioxide that is being emitted into the atmosphere. The CER estimated last year that over 80 million tonnes of CO2 has been abated through Australian carbon farming projects under the ERF. GreenCollar’s own projects are developed with partners that intentionally stack value in their projects to deliver the best environmental outcomes, including preservation of vulnerable habitats, biodiversity enhancement, and significant improvements to water and soil quality — all this on top of carbon abatement. The environmental and social windfalls generated by carbon farming projects are extras ‘additionalities’ (often referred to as ‘co-benefits’) a term that belies their significance when applied at scale. 

We once looked at trees and saw only timber. Nowadays we see biodiversity and habitat too. But increasingly, environmentalists, businesses, and land managers alike are looking at trees and seeing a carbon sink —a means of absorbing CO2, the most abundant greenhouse gas, through a process called carbon sequestration. 

Carbon sequestration is the long-term capture and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a process that happens naturally, but is increasingly encouraged and facilitated to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Carbon is sequestered naturally via many different systems. It is absorbed by: 

• The biosphere: carbon dioxide absorbed by vegetation via photosynthesis. 
• The pedosphere: carbon dioxide absorbed and stored in soil. 
• The hydrosphere: absorption by the ocean, including marine vegetation and phytoplankton. 
• The lithosphere: assimilation and storage of CO2 into the earth’s minerals (rocks). 

As one of the most significant greenhouse gases because of its abundance and rapid growth in the atmosphere, the abatement and storage of carbon dioxide is of key importance in slowing down the effects of climate change.   

Most would be aware of Australia’s highly political carbon crediting and tax schemes over the last decade, which were designed to slow down and create consequence for large carbon emitters. 

Australia’s national carbon crediting model is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and involves the exchange of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for the outcomes of verified carbon abatement projects. ACCUs are funded under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and sold from ACCU-generating projects to business wanting to offset their emissions. The market is largely voluntary, with businesses making commitments based on ESG and ‘net zero’ targets that deliver benefits to the planet and their brand. Though some of Australia’s larger emitters are required to offset emissions through the scheme’s Safeguard Mechanism. 

For land managers, carbon sequestration projects can deliver many benefits — not just in the form of ACCUs, but also on-farm and on-Country benefits that lead directly to a boost in productivity. These include:  

• Avoided Deforestation: Prevents the release of carbon dioxide by preserving forested areas earmarked for clearing andprotecting them for up to 100 years 
• Avoided Clearing: A method that sequesters carbon dioxide by breaking with a property’s current or historic clearing regime and providing increased capacity for vegetative carbon absorption.  
• Human Induced Regeneration: A carbon sequestration method that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide by changing land management practices and allowing native vegetation to regrow. 
• Soil Carbon Projects: Use sustainable and regenerative agriculture methods to help remediate soil health and build soil carbon. 
• Savanna Burning Projects: A method that limits carbon dioxide released by unmanaged wildfire through controlled and cooler burns as well as wildfire containment.  
• Beef Herd Management: A way to sequester carbon dioxide through livestock management and changing animal traffic to minimise soil disturbance.  

These methods, as well as the significant carbon abatement benefits and financial benefits to land managers, also are methods that lead to soil improvement, biodiversity enhancement, increased water health, and lead to improvements in productivity, tilling, and irrigation systems.   

GreenCollar’s project management focusses on this stacking of values, and works with the land manager to maximise both the environmental and business benefits that accrue as a result of carbon farming projects. Coupling specialist data monitoring and reporting with site visits, GreenCollar can assist land managers in unlocking the full potential  their land has to offer. 

 

What are carbon credits?

A carbon credit is a certificate that represents one tonne of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas equivalent.  In Australia these are called Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) and because the precise monetary impact of this CO₂ volume on the planet is difficult to define, carbon pricing today is decided by either taxes or trading. Though generally speaking, the price of carbon credits, amid growing net zero commitments from companies and government worldwide, is rising — and projected to double by 2030. 

How to earn carbon credits

Applications for carbon projects can be made through the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), a scheme overseen by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). If eligibility criteria are met (including accepted methodologies and reporting commitments), then an application can be made. Participants with a registered project may then bid for a contract to sell their ACCUs to the CER, who will run auctions to select bidders according to price. Carbon credit income varies between projects, but publications like Farm Online have reported substantial gains: “A 1000-hectare wheat farm that’s sequestering three tonnes per hectare per annum is going to be making 3000 carbon credits a year.” With carbon credits trading at around $22 in July 2021 and predicted to keep rising, that’s a decent return.

Partnering with GreenCollar to develop your project is a way to ensure you’re maximising your profits and project impact. GreenCollar’s technical team calculates the project’s potential carbon abatement potential and commercial viability, and works with land managers to tailor the project to their needs — this includes data collection and site visits. All ongoing monitoring and reporting processes are taken care of by GreenCollar, and the land manager can receive the first of their ongoing project revenues after approximately 18 months depending on stakeholder consents.

Importantly, eligibility for ACCU-generating projects is more varied than many land managers may realise, and include projects such as:

• Avoided clearing – protecting growing forest from future scheduled clearing by breaking with the property’s historical clearing regime.
• Avoided deforestation – preservation of native forest on property that has previously received government consent to be cleared and converted to cropland or pasture.
• Human-induced regeneration – allows natural regrowth of native vegetation by making management changes such as changes to grazing patterns, installation of new infrastructure, and cessation of regrowth clearing.
• Beef herd management – Aims to improve soil health and carbon sequestration through changes in livestock systems.
• Soil carbon projects – Manage the environmental cost and efficiency of farm systems to better serve the health of the farm, soil, and water and increase carbon uptake by changing irrigation and tilling systems.

Why earn carbon credits?

There are significant financial reasons to earn carbon credits. The diversification of income creates increased and ongoing economic resilience for farmers. But there are also a range of other on-farm, benefits that come from carbon projects. The environmental and social windfalls generated by projects are extras — often referred to as ‘co-benefits’ — and the benefits for land managers can be equally varied. One of the most crucial ways carbon farming can directly increase productivity is through soil improvement. A change in land management practices such as changes to tilling and irrigation regimes results in measurable increases in soil function and fertility as well as increased water and nutrient retention in plants — all of which contribute to enhanced productivity. Increased or preserved vegetation cover has also been proven to lessen the severity of seasonal events such as heat stress in livestock and frost in colder months. This is further enhanced by a range of environmental benefits which include: increased biodiversity above and below ground, habitat protection for endangered species, and increased soil and water health in the landscape.

How to claim carbon credits

Claiming ACCUs can be achieved through the Reporting and Crediting Form, found on the Emissions Reduction Fund’s (ERF) Client Portal. To claim, participants need a completed and signed ACCU application, an eligible offsets report for the reporting period, and method-specific supporting documentation. A comprehensive list of how to claim is available on the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) website, but by working with a project developer such as GreenCollar, land managers can hand the administrative burden of applications, documentation and reporting over and concentrate on implementing their project on the ground.

How to invest in carbon credits

Carbon credit investment can deliver significant benefits to a company. Some larger emitters are obligated to purchase credits in accordance with the CER’s Safeguard Mechanism, but for others the carbon market is voluntary, a way to meet their ESG commitments and deliver benefits to their brand.

• The first way is to purchase credits is through the Emission Reduction Fund’s (ERF) project register, which outlines a number of projects for investors to choose from.
• A second way is to contact projects and project facilitators through the Carbon Market Institute’s (CMI) marketplace.
• As Australia’s largest environmental markets investor, GreenCollar works directly with a number of land managers, Indigenous groups and Natural Resource Management organisations, all of which are generating ACCUs for purchase. For investors wanting high quality, high-integrity credits and high-value returns, GreenCollar provides projects that offer comprehensive ESG benefits for companies.