The Australian federal government will support the development of four new carbon crediting project methodologies proposed outside of government, federal energy minister Chris Bowen announced today.
A total of 39 expressions of interest under the proponent-led model launched earlier this year were submitted to the Emission Reduction Assurance Committee (Erac), the statutory body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Australia's carbon crediting framework. The four selected proposals will now move on to the development phase.
"Capturing opportunities across Australia remains a key priority for the government, and we've been working to deliver on the Chubb Review recommendation to bring forward more innovative ways to reduce emissions," Bowen told delegates at the Carbon Market Institute (CMI)'s Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit in Melbourne on 30 October.
Two of the selected methods were proposed by state governments — the "improved native forest management in multiple-use public native forests (INFM)" method, put forward by the New South Wales (NSW) department of climate change, environment, energy and environment, and the "improved avoided clearing of native regrowth (IACNR)" proposed by the Queensland department of environment, science and innovation.
The two others came from indigenous groups — the "extending savanna fire management to the northern arid zone" proposed by the Indigenous Desert Alliance, and the "reducing disturbance of coastal and floodplain wetlands by managing hooved animals" proposed by Northern Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance.
The successful proponents will now lead work on the drafting of the methods, with the Erac to publish the draft methods for public consultation before recommending them to the minister. A representative from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) previously said that developing a new method under the proponent-led model could take 1-2 years.
Delays with new methods
The development of new Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) framework methods had been until now led by the federal government, but this has proved "too slow," CMI's chief executive John Connor previously said.
Work on a remake of the Environmental Plantings (EP) method, which will make it easier for landholders to undertake projects, is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, Bowen said on 30 October. The method already expired on 30 September this year.
And exposure drafts for three other priority methods will only be delivered in the first half of next year, Bowen noted, including the long-awaited government-led Integrated Farm and Land Management (IFLM) method that will combine activities of several existing soil and vegetation sequestration methods into a single method. This includes the key human-induced regeneration (HIR) ACCU method, which expired on 30 September 2023. The DCCEEW had previously indicated the IFLM exposure draft would be sent to Erac by the end of this year, which would then be followed by public consultation.
The other exposure drafts are for new savanna fire management methods and for a reformed landfill gas method which could potentially lead to tighter supplies in the future.
