The Federal Government has passed the Emissions Reduction Fund into legislation. The Fund awards soil carbon sequestration projects long term contracts (usually up to seven years) at an agreed price. Although the contract is awarded up front, payment for carbon sequestration is only made by the fund as and when carbon is captured and stored in soils. The long term contracts are awarded through reverse-auctions, the first of which is set to run in April 2015.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) has given Australian Soil Management (ASM) the opportunity to develop a new funding model for the implementation of a soil carbon capture project on your farm. The ASM funding model will enable farmers to:
- Recover the costs of building better soils. The transition to better soils requires a change in management practices and product inputs;
- Develop better soils to increase production and reduce production costs for increased profits. Better soils are an asset for a farm business.
ASM is preparing a bid for the ERF auction in April this year. If the bid is successful at auction, ASM will meet with interested farmers to develop a project contract specific to their nominated area of land, called the Carbon Estimate Area (CEA). The project will commence from 1 July 2015.
Note: A successful bid becomes a contract with an agreed price for each Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) regardless of changes in government or policy. Next steps …
At this stage, we are seeking expressions of interest from farmers who wish to participate in the program.
Expressions of interest take the form of a Letter of Consent to be signed by each farmer. The Letter of Consent is not legally binding. Letters will be included in the preparation of our next bid to the Emissions Reduction Fund.
If you would like to know more about this opportunity, please contact: Dr Greg Bender on 02 6181 9226 or 0410 480 165
Email greg.bender@australiansoil.com.au
