Carbon Farming

Australia has introduced carbon farming legislation. The Carbon Farming Initiative is a carbon offsets scheme being established by the Australian Government to provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and landholders and to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Australia is one of the developed countries that has already suffered the most from climate change, including major impacts on water. The Carbon Farming Initiative includes:

• Legislation to establish a crediting mechanism;
• Fast-tracked development of methodologies for offset projects; and
• Information and tools to help farmers and landholders benefit from carbon markets.

Offset projects established under the Initiative will need to apply methodologies approved by the Government. These will contain the detailed rules for implementing and monitoring specific abatement activities and generating credits under the scheme.