Carbon markets
*Drone imagery of our fieldwork teams in forest
Carbon Markets: from ground to green
Performance, Quality and Reliability
Key Points
History of the Carbon Market
The Australian Carbon Market was established with the introduction of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (CFI Act 2011). As part of Australia’s commitment to addressing climate change, this voluntary carbon offsets scheme provides financial incentives for landholders to alter management strategies to store carbon or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The CFI Act was amended to include the Emission Reduction Fund (ERF) and the Safeguard Mechanism (CFI Act Amended 2014).
Australian Carbon Market
2011
Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011
2013
Ten new land sector methodologies become available.
Agriculture
- Destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries V1.1 (2013) (closed)
- Destruction of methane from piggeries using engineered biodigesters (2013) (closed)
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by feeding dietary additives to milking cows (2013)
Vegetation
- Human-induced regeneration of a permanent even-aged native forest 1.0 (2013) (closed)
- Human-induced regeneration of a permanent even-aged native forest 1.1 (2013)
- Quantifying carbon sequestration by permanent mallee plantings using the reforestation modelling tool (2013) (closed)
- Reforestation and afforestation; 1.1; 1.2 (2013) (closed)
- Native forest from managed regrowth (2013)
- Avoided deforestation (2013) (closed)
Savanna burning
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through early dry season savanna burning 1.1 (2013) (closed)
2014
Four new land sector methodologies become available.
Agriculture
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by feeding nitrates to beef cattle (2014)
- Sequestering carbon in soils in grazing systems method (2014) (closed)
Vegetation
- Measurement based methods of new farm forestry plantations (2014)
- Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings – FullCAM (2014)
2018
Three new land sector methodologies become available.
Agriculture
- Measurement of soil carbon sequestration in agricultural systems method (2018) (closed)
Savanna fire
- Savanna fire management – emissions avoidance (2018)
- Savanna fire management – sequestration and emissions avoidance (2018)
2019
One new land sector methodology becomes available.
Agriculture
- Animal effluent management (2019)
2021
Three new land sector methodologies become available.
Vegetation
- Plantation forestry (2022)
- Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems (2022)
- Environmental plantings pilot (2022)
2012
The first methodologies for carbon storage become available across industry and land sectors.
For interests of space, only land sector methods are shown.
Agriculture
- Destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries (2012) (closed)
- Destruction of methane generated from dairy manure in covered anaerobic ponds (2012) (closed)
Vegetation
- Quantifying carbon sequestration by permanent environmental plantings of native species using the CFi reforestation modelling tool (2012) (closed)
Savanna burning
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through early dry season savanna burning 1.0 (2012) (closed)
2014
Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act Amended 2014
The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act is integrated with the Emissions Reduction Fund, and amended to include the Safeguard Mechanism.
2015
COP21: The Paris Agreement
COP 21 is held in Paris on the 12 December 2015. 195 Parties sign the Paris Agreement, committing to keeping the rise in mean global temperature to well below 2°C and optimally below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
2015
Eight new land sector methods become available; several are retired.
Agriculture
- Beef cattle herd management (2015)
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fertiliser in irrigated cotton (2015)
- Estimating sequestration of carbon in soil using default values (2015)
Vegetation
- Avoided clearing of native regrowth (2015)
- Avoided deforestation 1.1 (2015)
- Reforestation and afforestation 2.0 (2015)
- Designated verified carbon standard projects (2015)
Savanna fire
- Emissions abatement through savanna fire management (2015) (closed)
2021
One new land sector methodology becomes available.
Agriculture
- Estimation of soil organic carbon sequestration using measurement and models (2021)
The Process
We work with you to conduct a prefeasibility assessment – then if you’re keen – we register a project on your behalf with the CER. Under a management plan developed together that allows for your grazing needs, vegetation begins to regenerate. When your trees have grown up into forest, it’s time to go to audit!
We compile evidence of the forest regeneration. This evidence quantifies exactly how much carbon has been sequestered. We submit this evidence to the CER for the issuance of ACCUs.
The CER issues AIC with ACCUs on your behalf, where each ACCU represents 1 tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent greenhouse gases) that you have sequestered. Congratulations on receiving your ACCUs!
With you, you can opt to sell your ACCUs either back to the CER through a Carbon Abatement Contract, or to private industry. Within private industry, you can sell to either the compliance market – where large corporations are legally required to offset their emissions through the Safeguard Mechanism (CFI Act Amended 2014) – or to the voluntary market, where stakeholders voluntarily offset their emissions.
Unlike many competitors, Australian Integrated Carbon is a holder of a Financial Services License, meaning that we are legally authorised to provide you with financial advice.
Terminology
The methodologies, measurement, verification, and issuance of carbon credits.
The Carbon Farming Initiative was a voluntary carbon abatement scheme that ran between September 2011 up till December 2014 when it was integrated with the Emissions Reduction Fund.
The original A$2.5 billion-dollar fund set aside by the Federal Government to procure Australian Carbon Credit Units.
The Emissions Reduction Fund is a voluntary scheme that aims to provide incentives for a range of organisations and individuals to adopt new practices and technologies to reduce their emissions.
The legislation that enforces that Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitters are required to keep their annual emissions below 100, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. This means that these emitters are required to reduce or offset their emissions to comply with this legislation.
An ACCU is a unit issued by the Clean Energy Regulator (Regulator) by making an entry for the unit in an account in the electronic Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (Registry). Each ACCU issued represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) stored or avoided by a project.
Under the Emissions Reduction Fund, you can enter into a contractual arrangement to sell Kyoto Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) to the government if you are successful at an Emissions Reduction Fund auction. This is referred to as a carbon abatement contract (a contract). Two types of contract are available: Fixed Delivery and Optional Delivery.
The Federal Government body which manages the Australian Carbon Credit Units.