FARMERS could have the opportunity to source new income streams through carbon offset trading, according to University of Melbourne Associate Professor Richard Eckard.
But they would need to meet the internationally accepted principles of permanence, additionality, measurability, avoidance of leakage and independent audit and registration.
Dr Eckard was one of the key speakers at last week's Grains Research and Development Corporation update held in Adelaide.
"Agriculture contributes around 16 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions, according to 2007 figures," he said.
"Stationary energy is the biggest contributor at 54pc, with transport at 15pc."
Dr Eckard said while there was no mention of agriculture at the Copenhagen climate summit, there was a deadline set to come up with carbon reduction agreements by the end of this year.
"When the Kyoto protocol was established agriculture was not represented, but at Copenhagen farmers were strongly represented," he said.
"Issues to do with global food security were put on the table."
But there would be challenges to carbon trading from agriculture.
"Being out of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme does not mean 'off the hook'," he said.
"It will be difficult to achieve the government's 60pc reduction in national emissions by 2050 without a contribution from the agricultural sector.
"There are likely to be voluntary offset opportunities for agriculture."
These opportunities include:
• Reforestation under the CPRS. This could include Landcare plantings, riparian restoration or shelter belts, but they would need to meet Kyoto protocol guidelines of being in patches of at least 0.2ha in area, potential height of least 2 metres tall and at least 20pc crown cover.
• Trading in reduced or avoided emissions of methane and nitrous oxide. This could include reduced nitrogen fertiliser use or changes in animal management practices leading to methane and nitrous oxide reductions, such as dietary modifications.
• A voluntary market for non-Kyoto compliant agricultural emissions offsets through the National Carbon Offset Scheme. This can include soil carbon and biochar, but this option could have lower prices than being involved in the CPRS, since it is not counted towards Australia's international commitments.
Dr Eckard said there could be issues with adhering to market rules.
"With the permanence principle, if you're storing carbon it still has to be there in 100 years time," he said.
He said it was unlikely business would want to deal with farmers at an individual level.
"There are many smaller companies aiming to be carbon neutral," he said.
"They are more likely to want to deal with collectives, or the upstream fertiliser company or downstream processor."
Dr Eckard said cost could be another issue, with a carbon price of $38/t needed to cover N requirements. But soil carbon is trading at below $US2/t on the Chicago Climate Exchange.
Biochar – the process of taking farmyard scraps, putting them into a pyrolysis kiln and applying the material back to the land to improve soil health – also had issues.
"Carbon credits may be attributed to the factory where the pyrolysis occurred," he said.
Details: www.climatechange.gov.au and www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/ sci/Biochar.htm
Email a friend