Carbon farming case studies tip of the iceberg

THE Carbon Market Institute (CMI) has welcomed the release of a suite of carbon farming video case studies showing farmers benefiting from 'carbon money' under the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund.

The videos were produced in collaboration with the Clean Energy Regulator and tell the story of five different carbon farming methods: soil carbon, vegetation, revegetation, plantation forestry and human-induced regeneration.

John Connor, CEO of the CMI said, “These case studies highlight the significant employment and environmental benefits that come from carbon farming projects, as well as the climate benefits that flow from sequestering carbon through agricultural activities and land management.

“There’s been a decade of successful carbon farming in Australia and these stories are just the tip of the iceberg.”

The case studies, drawn from projects in New South Wales and Victoria, demonstrate that carbon farming works successfully with traditional farming practices, increases productivity and drought tolerance while reducing farm input costs, and provides farmers with new income streams. 

“The government’s Emission Reduction Fund has thrown a lifeline to the Carbon Farming Initiative that first began in 2011,” Mr Connor said. “Almost 1000 projects have been developed so far and thousands more can be delivered that will bring real benefits to regional Australia and the global climate.”

The CMI’s 2017 Carbon Farming Industry Roadmap highlights that with the right policies and ambition, carbon farming can support the development of over 20,000 jobs by 2030, and over $20 billion in carbon project revenue, mostly flowing to regional Australia.

Meanwhile, the CMI’s world-first Carbon Industry Code of Conduct, which defines industry best practice for carbon project developers, becomes fully operational on July 1, 2021.

“With the right policies, and a laser-like focus on integrity, our carbon farming industry can become a major exporter of carbon reduction credits and expertise to a world increasingly demanding them,” Mr Connor said.

The five projects highlighted in the videos are:

• soil carbon – Olsen’s;
• human induced regeneration – Brindingabba Station; 
• revegetation – Ploughshare;
• plantation forestry - WeAct;
• vegetation – avoided deforestation – Bulgoo Station. 

“It was a pleasure to visit these carbon farming sites firsthand to see the benefits being delivered and I’d encourage others to do so,” Mr Connor said. “I’d like to thank the farmers, their staff and local businesses we spoke to for their enthusiastic participation.”

About the CMI

The Carbon Market Institute is the industry association for business leading the transition to net-zero emissions and has over 100 corporate members including primary producers, carbon project developers, emission intensive companies and legal, banking and advisory service providers.

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