Landholders to earn carbon credits by planting mallee

Landholders will be able to generate carbon credits from establishing mallee plantings on their properties under a new carbon farming initiative (CFI) methodology approved by the Australian Government today.

The methodology for ‘Quantifying Carbon Sequestration by Permanent Mallee Plantings using the Reforestation Modelling Tool’ sets out rules for setting up and monitoring projects that store carbon in permanent plantings of mallee trees.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation, Yvette D’Ath, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Joe Ludwig, welcomed the methodology. D’Ath said it would assist landholders in drier areas that receive an average rainfall of 600 mm or less.

“Landholders in these areas will be able to generate Australian carbon credit units by establishing permanent mallee belts or forests through direct seeding or planting tubestock,” D’Ath said.

“Just like other commodities, they will be able to sell these units to businesses wanting to offset their carbon pollution or to companies that sell carbon-neutral products.”

The methodology has been endorsed by the Oil Mallee Association of Australia and applies to land that has been cleared or partially cleared for the previous five years, where tree growth has been suppressed by prior land use.

Minister Ludwig noted that the benefits extend far beyond an additional source of income.

“By incorporating shelter belts or forests where appropriate, farmers can lift the overall productivity of their land, reduce dryland salinity, wind or water erosion, provide shelter for livestock and enhance biodiversity,” Minister Ludwig said.

The Methodology Determination is available from the ComLaw website and project applications may be made to the Clean Energy Regulator.

Further information on the Carbon Farming Initiative is available at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/cfi.