Carbon Markets: What are they and are they a fit for me?

_{Carbon Markets: What are they and are they a fit for me?
By John McLaughlin - Project Manager at Upscale Carbon}

The Carbon Industry in Australia can trace its roots back to the Carbon Credits Bill of 2011, more than 10 years ago. Looking back, it was a relatively modest beginning, one that few would remember or recall. The same cannot be said about the Australian Carbon Industry of 2024 – a highly publicised and highly criticised industry, though one in which many believe holds exciting opportunities for Australian Agriculture.

But how well do you understand the fast-paced and seemingly ever-changing industry? Terms such as Carbon Farming, Carbon Accounting, Carbon Projects, Carbon Zero, Carbon Neutral, Carbon Emissions, just to name a few, have inserted themselves into the modern agricultural-speak. But are we confident that we understand what these terms mean and how they may relate to you and your business?

In the series of articles, we will explore the Australian Carbon Industry of today, defining and explaining some of the terminologies and highlighting the risks and opportunities that landholders might encounter.

So, let’s start with the most obvious one when writing to Australia’s farmers and graziers – Carbon Farming

It’s simple – Carbon Farming is an approach to management that increases carbon capture by implementing practices that can improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in plant material and soils. It can also be extended to include the levels of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emitted by a business as part of their operations. In other words, from a landholder’s perspective, Carbon Farming involves practices you can implement on your property that increase the carbon stored in your vegetation and/ or soils, and/or that reduce your businesses overall GHG emissions.

Sounds pretty simple right? Well at this level, it sort of is. However, if a landholder wishes to validate and verify their Carbon Farming activities by creating Carbon Credits or developing a Carbon Account for their business, things start to get more complicated.

You must then begin to analyse and understand Carbon Methods, and their associated criteria with respect to Eligibility and Additionality. In many cases you will be required to provide historical evidence from your Baseline Period, and in some instances elect a Permanence Period for the project.

All this time, landholders must be considering the most important question of all – why am I doing any of this to begin with?

Do I want to support broader industry goals – such as Meat & Livestock Australia CN2030 initiative? Am I simply trying to increase and diversify my revenue? Am I wanting to create Carbon Neutral product or sell into Low Emissions-Intensity markets? Or am I trying to better position myself for the greater regulations in the future? Or, is it a bit of everything?

Over the coming months we will scratch the surface on all of these issues. We will analyse the Australian Carbon Industry from the perspective of a landholder – highlighting what’s important and what’s not. The articles will also provide key resources for landholders to further explore issues or opportunities that are particularly relevant to their business and interests.

See you next time for Article 2 as we explore the history of Carbon as an industry and analyse who are the major players in this space today.