April 2021 - WA Carbon Connections

Welcome to the second edition of the WA Carbon Connections

CSP April.png — Here’s an update on the carbon price as it stands:

Carbon + biodiversity

The South West Catchments Council (SWCC) is one of only six national NRM groups chosen to run a Federal Government ‘Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot’ program. The $23.5 million program aims to provide incentives for farmers to develop environmental planting projects for ecosystem and climate benefits.

Full details have yet to be released, but for more information go to https://swccnrm.org.au/carbonbiodiversity/

Verified: To be, or not to be? That is the question.

There’s been a lot of discussion around the traps about the many different kinds of carbon credits being generated across the world, and the difference between ‘verified’ and ‘unverified’ credits.

Will an ‘unverified’ carbon credit be a wise choice due to its often less demanding level of governance (ie paperwork)? Or will ‘verified’ credits (such as an Australian Carbon Credit Unit) hold most value in the long term?

Stories of cattle farmers in NSW being paid half a million dollars by Microsoft to store carbon in their soils, rumours of carbon projects which last only 10 years, and suggestions that remote sensing technology can remove the need for costly direct soil sampling, are just some of the reasons why landholders are asking for more information on the best way forward in terms of carbon farming.

Consult Carbon West to find out more information on this carbon industry can of worms.

Accounting for on-farm natural capital

Working out the best way for farmers to monitor and track changes in the value of their property’s natural capital is the aim of a new WA State Government-funded project.

Perth Natural Resource Management (Perth NRM) will soon kick off the ‘Measuring on-farm natural capital’ project, with plans to work with 30 farms in WA’s ag region. While industries around the world are adopting new performance standards such as triple-bottom line reporting, Perth NRM is investigating tools for applying NCA in agriculture.

Carbon stocks will be just one of the recorded parameters, though carbon is also likely to play a significant role in other areas such as water quality and biodiversity.

More on NCA…

The Perth NRM project coincides with the recent announcement by the United Nations of the adoption of its system of environmental economic accounting – ecosystem accounting as an international statistical standard.

UN Secretary General Antonia Guterres has stated: “No longer will we allow mindless and environmental destruction to be considered as economic progress”. His colleague, UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development, Elliott Harris, added: “If we put a value on nature, then we will measure it. If we measure it, we can manage it. If we manage the value, we avoid destroying it.”

European emissions trading scheme

The European Union (EU) announced the launch of its new Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) earlier this year. The EU plans to impose a carbon tariff on imports from countries which do not have a carbon tax. This is, essentially, a bit of a punishment for Australia’s decision to scrap its carbon tax back in 2014. The real kicker for Australian exporters is that the EU is expected to base its tariff price on the carbon price in Europe, which is now around AUD$60/t-CO2e, compared to Australia’s AUD$18.50. Worse still, some expect the EU price to rise to $71 by next year, and potentially further before the tariff comes into force in 2023.

It is not yet known whether agricultural products will be included in the list of exports affected by the tariffs, as the development of the scheme is ongoing, and has thus far focused on carbon-intensive exports such as coal.

Exporters who have offset their carbon emissions may avoid the tariff, with increased demand for carbon credits being the likely result of this arrangement.

Time will tell…

Quote of the day

This month’s quote comes from a friend of Carbon West, who made an excellent analogy when discussing carbon methodologies (also known as carbon standards).

“Most of the standards are like the monster under the bed … they are fun once you get to know them.”

This gem was a clear winner, one we found ourselves repeating again and again this month. The 2018 ERF soil carbon methodology is a good example; It is a document that on first impression seems an impossibly complex and counter-intuitive piece of legislation. As we have come to understand it, however, the methodology reveals why the countless hours of meticulous drafting by some brilliant minds will protect the long-term integrity of soil carbon credits.

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