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Understanding carbon farming and earning carbon credits

Published: 
a field of trees to support carbon farming

Carbon farming refers to practices on land that either store carbon in vegetation and soil (biological sequestration) or reduce the release of greenhouse gasses from livestock, soil, or vegetation (avoidance).

Carbon farming plays an essential part in taking action on climate change. Storing carbon in plants and soil is a cost-effective way of removing carbon from the atmosphere. This removal alongside emissions reduction activities helps reduce the impacts of climate change.

Carbon farming practices

Choosing the type of carbon farming activities for you will depend on multiple factors, including climate conditions, location, management goals and your farm or property type. Activities can include:

  • Planting trees

  • Creating conditions for natural vegetation growth (e.g. through fencing)

  • Adjusting grazing routines and herd management

  • Implementing soil improvement techniques

  • Modifying how fertiliser is used

By engaging in these activities, farmers and landowners can earn tradable carbon credits, which they can use to offset their carbon footprint or generate additional income.

Benefits of carbon farming

Carbon farming presents many economic and environmental benefits to landholders, enabling them to address climate change while creating an additional income stream by earning carbon credits.

Benefits could include:

  • enhanced biodiversity and increased habitats for wildlife

  • economic growth from increased productivity

  • improved soil quality

  • increased community resilience associated with carbon projects

  • diversify land uses and income stream

About the Australian Carbon Credits Units

The Australian Carbon Credits Units (ACCUs) is a unit issued to a person by the Clean Energy Regulator that makes an entry in a person's electronic Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU) account.

One carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide sequestered or avoided by the project.

Carbon credits generated from the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme (Formerly the Emissions Reduction Scheme) are called ACCUs and can be sold to individuals, governments or organisations wanting to offset their carbon emissions.

Register for carbon farming workshops

Throughout the year there are regional workshops, webinars and one-on-one meetings to help farmers understand carbon farming and how they can benefit from these projects.

Workshops cover how to register a project, what is carbon farming and how to apply for the current Round 3 of the Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program (CF-LRP).

To find out more about the upcoming workshops, click here.

Our Projects

Find out what projects are in place in WA to take action against climate change.

What projects are happening in WA
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Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge and respect Western Australian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Western Australia's land and waters, their unique ability to care for Country and deep spiritual connection to it. We honour and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of culture and traditional practices. We thank them for caring for Country for thousands of generations.

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