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Australia Studies Rules for Farmers' Carbon Offsets (Update1)
2010-10-27 03:20:54.770 GMT
(Updates with analyst's comment in fourth paragraph.)
By Stuart Biggs
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's government will study
rules for farmers to receive credits for steps that reduce or
store carbon dioxide emissions, such as planting forests, the
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency said.
The government set up a panel to establish terms for
farmers to qualify for the credits, which can then be sold in
Australian or international carbon markets, Greg Combet said in
an e-mailed statement today.
Activities including reforestation, capturing emissions
from landfill sites and improved management of livestock manure
may qualify for credits, the minister said. The plan is known as
the Carbon Farming Initiative. The committee is due to report
back in the first half of next year.
"The Initiative should provide much-needed momentum for
the offset market in Australia," said Sebastian Henbest, a
Sydney-based analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
As the credits will be backed by so-called Assigned Amount
Units, a global standard within the Kyoto Protocol agreement,
they can be sold in international markets before a domestic
carbon trading program is established, Henbest said.
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd earlier this year shelved
a cap-and-trade plan until after 2012 amid lawmaker opposition.
Australia's Labor Party, which governs with the support of
one Greens Party and three independent lawmakers, estimates
about A$500 million ($490 million) of credits may be generated
over 10 years, according to a statement from Prime Minister
Julia Gillard posted on its website in August.
Gillard has established a committee to study options for
introducing a price on carbon in a country where coal accounts
for more than 80 percent of power production.
For Related News and Information:
Bloomberg New Energy Finance Carbon Model: CARX <GO>
Emissions Market Monitor: EMMK <GO>
Most-read environmental news: MNI ENV <GO>
Most-read renewable-energy news: MNI ALTNRG <GO>
--Editors: John Viljoen, Clyde Russell.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at +81-3-3201-3093 or
sbiggs3@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
