Clean Energy Future

Farmers and landowners now have more opportunities to earn carbon credits from forestry, piggery and landfill activities under the Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI).

Four new CFI methodologies – the ‘instructions’ for CFI projects – have been approved and announced by Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet, and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Yvette D’Ath.

Pig farmers will benefit from the release of an approved method to capture harmful methane gas generated from pig manure and convert it into electricity for their operations

Efficiently capturing methane has both environmental and financial benefits; farmers can use the gas produced in the process to generate electricity, saving them money on power bills.

Farmers can also boost their income by selling carbon credits generated from approved projects.

Two methodologies have also been approved for the growth, regeneration and maintenance of native forest areas.

Dr James Bulinski, a Director of CO2 Australia, is excited by the commercial potential for farmers seeking to manage their greenhouse gas emissions.

“Now that we have final approval we can move to rapidly register close to 30,000 hectares of eligible reforestation projects that we manage under the CFI and get on with the business of generating Australian Carbon Credit Units for our clients,” Dr Bulinski said.

Ben Keogh, Managing Director of Australian Carbon Traders, highlighted the CFI’s benefits for landholders and the environment.

“There are tens of thousands of hectares of Australian country ready to use this approach to blend carbon and traditional farming on the one property. This creates a great opportunity for landholders throughout Australia,” he said.

Operators who previously diverted degradable waste from landfill may also be eligible to earn carbon credits under a new approved approach.

Operators who comply with the new set of CFI rules can generate carbon credits and help prevent harmful methane emissions, generated by decaying landfill waste, from entering the atmosphere.

For further information, visit www.comlaw.gov.au