|
|
|
|
AiCarbon Newsletter & Update
|
|
Good afternoon. 2023 continues at a rapid pace as AiCarbon gets on with field work for a number of projects in WA, SA and the NT, sending Teams to all points of the compass. We have also been undertaking several HIR confirmation site visits with Landowners on properties in parts of QLD, NT and WA that represent a broadening of AiCarbon's geographical footprint and project portfolio.
Similarly, we continue to build capacity and resources in the delivery of AiCarbon's pipeline of Environmental Plantings and Carbon Accounting, and as part of some exciting Beef Herd Management developments we hope to announce in the near future.
AiCarbon's CEO, Adam Townley, and members of the Management Team have been engaged with a host of project stakeholders, obtaining eligible interest holder (EIH) consents and negotiating to secure fair and reasonable terms on which some of our remote projects might return certain landscapes to what might be considered their "pre-settlement state". Carbon projects involve all manner of stakeholder, like banks, super funds, state governments & traditional owners, and as we bring more and more projects online these efforts are ongoing.
If you have any questions regarding your project, or if you'd like to talk to us about starting a new project, we'd welcome your call/email. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The AiCarbon Team and I were thrilled to welcome several new clients with registered projects during the course of March and April, and we are busily working to register many more prior to the impending 'sunset' date for the HIR methodology on 30 September 2023.
As confidence in the carbon industry grows and the systems and processes governing carbon projects and credits become more mainstream, opportunities abound for Landholders to get involved. While we fully understand and appreciate that agriculture, farming and livestock production are the core business and often the lifestyle foundation for many of our clients, diversification into carbon is becoming a reliable risk-mitigation strategy for a growing number of primary producers. Recent news out of Brazil of the live export ban highlights this point, and it underscores just how valuable a secondary income from carbon farming can be.
And of course, closer to home, the Australian Government has committed to phasing out live sheep exports during this current term of the Australian Parliament.
AiCarbon expects the implementation of all 16 recommendations from the Chubb Review within the coming 8 to 12 weeks, which will no doubt present new challenges and obstacles so if you have been considering your carbon options, now would be an opportune time to start your project. |
|
|
|
IT'S A GOOD TIME TO REGISTER YOUR PROJECT | |
|
Excerpt from Professor Chubb's statement summarising the findings & recommendations of the Independent Review into Australian Carbon Credit Units: We know that there is now enough CO2 in the atmosphere to take the global average temperature to uncomfortable levels. Carbon farming can reduce that CO2 and is able to be implemented at scale right now. Carbon farming is based largely on photosynthesis, the process by which plants and some other organisms use light, CO2 and water to provide energy to grow. There are no other means available to draw CO2 out of the atmosphere and sequester it - at scale. Eventually? Maybe. Right now? No. Of course sequestration has to be valid. Of course the removal of CO2 has to be real and long-lasting. Of course we all need to be confident that it is both. The Panel’s recommendations are designed to improve a system that has, by now, been operating long enough to see where improvements can be made. Continuous improvement is the laudable objective, it is simply good practice. The Government has accepted all recommendations in the Review. The means to implement them are being developed. The Panel has emphasised that its recommendations should be implemented as a matter of urgency. |
|
|
|
|
|
Overview Sustainable funding for a strong biosecurity system Accelerating adoption of climate-smart, sustainable agriculture Boosting capabilities to support sustainable agriculture sector Partnering to implement the National Soil Action Plan Renewed Australian Animal Welfare Strategy Implementation of the Live Sheep Export Phase Out |
|
|
|
|
|
Farmers have been hit with a new tax in the form of a biosecurity levy to help pay for an $845 million budget boost in spending on measures aimed at keeping out pests and diseases. The levy was a bitter pill in a budget that failed to tackle rampant food price inflation, said National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) president Fiona Simson. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AiCarbon took part in South Australia’s inaugural Industry Climate Change Conference which brought together industry, business and government representatives from across South Australia to work on further reducing emissions and set the pathways towards a net zero future.
The South Australian Government has state-wide goals of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emission by 2050. There is also a target to achieve 100% renewable energy generation by 2030, which is well on the way with recent figures showing this is currently sitting at 68%.
The state government and Business SA hosted the Industry Climate Change Conference in recognition that action is required by all sectors to achieve these targets. |
|
|
|
|
|
AiCarbon Program Manager, James Thiessen, presented to the 2023 SA Sheep Expo recently. This innovative event offers young people a platform to develop a better understanding of the sheep industry, the opportunities it offers and to encourage the next generation to engage at a grassroots level within the industry. And with contributions from experts like James, this event provides valuable insights into how Agriculture and Carbon are intertwined.
Inspired by the highly successful SA Junior Heifer Expo, the SA Sheep Expo provides an education forum for young sheep enthusiasts aged 12 to 23 years and enables them to build their knowledge and identify pathways to further careers in areas of the sheep industry. |
|
|
|
|
|
In late May AiCarbon will be attending the Carbon Market Institute (CMI)’s Carbon Farming Industry Forum, which is the key industry event convening stakeholders across the supply chain of Australia’s carbon market and carbon farming industry. The Forum provides a platform for key stakeholders to gather, consider latest developments and progress key actions in CMI’s Carbon Farming Industry Roadmap.
This Forum is an exclusive opportunity for Australia’s carbon industry stakeholders to meet and work together in advancing the industry. This is of even greater importance given the rapidly changing carbon landscape in Australia. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Getting your project back on track... |
|
We are working with clients on carbon projects under several methodologies, as well as helping them understand their carbon footprints and biodiversity accounts. If you're concerned with the progress of your carbon project, and you'd like to understand what your options are in trying to get it back on track, AiCarbon might be able to help. |
|
|
|
|
|
REPUTEX ENERGY | Market Research | |
|
Trading remains lumpy in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) market, as is common in maturing markets, with limited action last week as participants continue to wait for large compliance demand to develop in earnest. With the first compliance deadline under the new Safeguard Mechanism framework not occurring until end-March 2025 (for FY24), potential buyers have set in motion long processes around procurement, SMC-ACCU market analysis, and offtake contracting, with large buyers to incrementally enter the market over the next 12-24 months. Internationally, broader uncertainty around the direction of global markets has seen the VCM continue in a state of low liquidity and limited price actions as traders take a wait-and-see approach. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This link explains various aspects of the Carbon Market, including what is an ACCU, how is Offsetting achieved, how is carbon sequestration measured, who is buying & selling, what might the market look like in 2030 and so on. It's a basic outline from Greening Australia but it provides a useful start to understanding the key elements of the carbon sector in general. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INSIGHT: The above image is an example of more detailed Remote Sensing that AiCarbon undertakes for all prospective clients considering doing a Carbon Project under the Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) Method. Remote sensing enables AiCarbon to refine our understanding of a Pastoral Lease's variations within land systems using ESRI GIS mapping software to classify the landscape according to the carbon sequestration potential. This classification uses spectral signatures associated with trees, shrubs, grass, bare earth and rocks to identify suitable regeneration areas (ie. carbon sequestration potential). Areas where carbon sequestration can be achieved by regenerated native forest is then referred to as the Carbon Estimation Area (CEA). The final CEA incorporated into a project is determined by what the Landholder dictates as well as what a rigorous risk-rating process deems to be suitable, appropriate and manageable. | |
|
|
|
NEWS ITEMS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: | |
|
by Anne Mano, Reuters
SAO PAULO, April 27 - A Brazilian court has banned the export of live cattle from all the country's ports, a ruling hailed as historic on Thursday by an animal welfare group.
The verdict, which can be appealed, was handed down on Tuesday by federal judge Djalma Gomes. "Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear," Gomes wrote in the ruling. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Chris McLennan, FarmOnline
Prices for farm land across Australia are continuing to stun experts.
The value of rural property has zoomed way past other investment opportunities such as the share market or residential real estate.
According to a deep dive into farm sales by one of the nation's leading rural real estate firms, Elders Ltd, farm land values jumped another 18.1 per cent last year on top of a 18.2pc rise the year before.
The national median price per hectare rose to $8142/ha from $6891/ha in 2021. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Else Kenney, The Weekly Times Land use conflict or opportunity? The Weekly Times takes a look at the safeguard mechanism and what it means for Australian landholders. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Eric Barker, Beef Central THE market for Australian Carbon Credit Units has had a positive response to the finalisation of the Federal Government’s amendments to the safeguard mechanism – with prices rising and higher volumes traded. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Beef Magazine CH4 Global Inc. has launched a new proprietary methane-reducing digestive aide feed formulation for beef feedlot cattle called Methane Tamer Beef Feedlot. The product is the first in a line of products for a full suite of ruminant animals and farming approaches being development under the Methane Tamer brand and will initially be commercially available to partners in Australia with global expansion coming in future years. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Andrew Marshall, FarmOnline
Farmers are telling the federal parliament they want wholesale reform to Australia's competition laws. The industry is citing a host of examples where concentrated market power, supply chain business mergers and weak rules are eroding fairness, farm productivity and viability. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Offshore Engineer
The importance of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) to reaching net zero has been highlighted in a new Australian Government report calling for more support for the technology.
The policy insights paper, “Reduce, remove and store: The role of carbon sequestration in accelerating Australia’s decarbonisation,” follows estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that around six billion tonnes of CO2 would have to be removed per year by 2050 globally, and about 14 billion tonnes per year by 2100, for a 50% chance of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C. |
|
|
|
|
|
by Peter De Kruiff, ABC Pilbara
Carbon dioxide emissions from Western Australia's largest emitters increased by 5 per cent last year.
An analysis by the ABC of the past six financial years of reported emissions, under the national safeguard mechanism, shows there has been a 15 per cent increase in carbon dioxide released by major WA projects since the scheme started. |
|
|
|
|
|
CARBON FARMING METHODOLOGIES | |
|
Are you interested in Carbon Farming? |
|
Follow the links below to have an AiCarbon Team Member contact you: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOLLOW AiCARBON ON SOCIALS |
|
|
|
Want to change how you receive these emails? |
|
|
|
