THE number of landholders investigating carbon sink opportunities with CO2 Australia, the largest provider in the sector, has increased by 681% since the introduction of the Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) in August 2011.
“Over the last six months, we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of farmers asking about establishing carbon sinks on their farms,” CO2 Australia land acquisition manager Mark Ritchie said.
“This high level of interest is very positive for Australia’s growing carbon industry and also indicates that landholders understand how carbon sinks can enhance farm productivity and improve the landscape.
“A number of landowners are enquiring about registering existing tree plots for carbon credits for the CFI.
However, in the vast majority of cases these plantings are ineligible for the federal government scheme," Mr Ritchie added.
CO2 Australia has more than 22,000 hectares of carbon sink plantings (equating to more than 33 million trees) under its management and is the largest and most experienced operator in the sector.
The organisation said that the advantages of landholders partnering with CO2 Australia in carbon sinks on their properties are numerous.
As well as the financial benefits landholders receive, carbon sinks provide fantastic shelter belts for livestock, and reduce waterlogging, salinty and wind erosion.
"CO2 Australia-managed tree plantings have contributed enormously to livestock production including lambing. The shocks and stresses of the hot and cold weather to sheep and cattle can cause mortalities, but a farmer near Dubbo, NSW, was shearing his sheep when it was pretty cold in October and he didn’t lose any sheep due to the shelter provided by the trees," Mr Ritchie said.
Most carbon sink plantings under CO2 Australia’s management consist of a small range of mallee tree species, another reason landholders have not been able to cash in on past tree plantings.
“The trade off for using the one variety is being able to consistently supply carbon to clients and mallee trees allows us with certainty to determine the amount of carbon to be sequestered,” Mr Ritchie said.
“Mallee trees have a long lifespan and are also fire tolerant. They will regrow after a fire, so any loss of carbon is temporary.
“We also need a species which can handle harsh climatic conditions and is drought tolerant.”
CO2 Australia has carbon sink sites in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, and is also investigating opportunities in Queensland.
The minimum landholding set aside for a plantation is 50 hectares (125 acres) and the life of the agreement is usually 100 years, which gives certainty to the amount of carbon which will be sequestered from the trees.
The CFI allows landholders to participate in carbon reduction projects including planting trees, increasing soil carbon and reducing on-farm emissions.
CO2 Australia has been operating since 2004 and was the first organisation to achieve accreditation for reforestation projects under both the NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme and the Federal Government’s former Greenhouse Friendly™ Program.
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