Legislation has been introduced to Parliament to establish the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) and start rewarding farmers and other landholders taking action to reduce carbon pollution.

 

The Carbon Farming Initiative is a market mechanism that will begin to unlock the potential for carbon abatement in the land sector, which accounts for around one quarter of Australia’s emissions.

 

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, said the legislation is critical to providing long-term investment certainty and enabling the land sector to be part of Australia’s climate change solution.

 

"Up to now, we have not had a lasting framework for rewarding land sector abatement. We want to encourage private and commercial investment in areas such as carbon sinks forests, native forest protection, landscape restoration and more sustainable, carbon efficient farming practices."

 

Under the Carbon Farming Initiative, farmers and other landholders who make changes to their current practices that result in emission reductions will be rewarded for their efforts.

 

Farmers will be encouraged to generate carbon credits from a range of activities such as fertisliser management, reduced livestock emissions, soil carbon and reforestation.

 

Key changes include a streamlined additionality test, improved investment certainty and extra protections against adverse impacts on food production, water availability, employment and biodiversity. The Government has clarified that abatement activities that enhance agricultural productivity can meet the additionality test.

 

The Government is aiming to pass the legislation before 1 July 2011.

 

Further information on the CFI is available on the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website.