OVERVIEW
Interested in generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) through the environmental plantings method?
This information focuses on the Environmental Plantings Method, outlining the methodology requirements for establishing a permanent native forest and building carbon stocks. We will look at how carbon yield evolves over the crediting period and highlight the benefits this method offers to landholders and primary producers.
DISCLAIMER: This general information has been prepared by Landcare Australia (AR 1315198 of Australian Carbon Traders Pty Ltd AFSL 425512) for farmers and landholders who are eligible to be treated as wholesale clients. It does not take into account your objectives, needs or situation. ACCUs and derivatives are financial products. While we have outlined common benefits, risks and constraints here, we strongly recommend you seek independent financial and legal advice before acting on any decision to invest. Click here for further regulatory information.
The Environmental Plantings Method
What is Environmental Plantings Methodology?
Participating in an environmental plantings project involves planting, growing and maintaining a permanent forest of native trees on land that has been clear of forest for at least seven years. By building carbon stocks in trees, shrubs and debris across a 25-year crediting period, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere. This removal and resulting increase in tree carbon stocks generates ACCUs.
A project needs to comply with a ‘methodology’ which is a rulebook that must be followed to receive ACCUs from the Scheme administrator the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). The methodology outlines project requirements and the steps that must be taken to measure the increase in carbon through planting trees.
Why the Environmental Plantings Method?
Landcare Australia focuses its efforts on the Environmental Plantings Method due to the benefits it potentially provides to landholders and primary producers, including:
- Integration with existing farm operations with minimal impact on production. Farmers have shown that they can revegetate from 5 per cent to 20 per cent of their farm without loss of food or fibre production.
- A healthier, more resilient landscape that supports natural processes to improve on farm productivity.
- Improved resilience against impacts such as erosion, local climate variability (e.g. extreme heat) and lack of shade or shelter.
- Access to ACCUs for insetting or offsetting purposes or as a supplementary income stream.
- Seen as high integrity by market players with the possibility to attract a premium price for ACCUs and;
- Potential to ‘stack’ benefits with the merging Nature Repair Market (pending final methods).
If you select to undertake a reforestation project on your land there are specific requirements that need to be followed.
Method Requirements
The table below summarises the key features and requirements of the Environmental Plantings Method.
| Crediting period | 25 years – the crediting period is the amount of time the proponent has to claim a project’s Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs). This is separate to the permanence period – 25 or 100 years after the first ACCUs are issued. |
| Eligibility requirements | There are general eligibility requirements in the Act, which include: • newness • regulatory additionality and funding from other government programs • legal right Projects can be run in any area of Australia with FullCAM modelling data, and plantings must be established on land that has been clear of forest cover for at least 5 years previously. |
| Project activities | A project involves establishing and maintaining vegetation such as trees or shrubs on land that has been clear of forest for at least the last 5 years. This can be either a mallee eucalypt planting or a mixture of endemic native species, termed a mixed-species Environmental Planting. Trees can be planted as either seeds or tubestock, in rows or randomly, and in areas that are either linear belts or blocks. They must be planted at a density that will allow them to achieve forest cover, which means they must have the potential to reach a height of at least 2 metres and provide crown cover over at least 20% of the land. You can a commence project activities once an application to register the project has been submitted, including: • preparing land for planting • purchasing seeds or seedlings • undertaking planting activities. |
| Exclusions | The land used for a project must not contain woody biomass or an invasive native scrub species that needs clearing before planting can occur, except for known weed species that are required or authorised by law to be cleared. Certain types of activities, such as harvesting are restricted. Mallee eucalypt plantings are excluded from areas that receive more than 600 mm of long-term average rainfall unless the planting meets the exemption requirements under Section 4.9 of the method. |
| How is abatement calculated | Abatement is calculated using a computer modelling tool called the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM). The rate of carbon sequestration of farm trees is directly related to the type of trees, their age and how fast they grow. FullCAM uses a variety of settings, called calibrations, to model the amount of carbon stored in different types of plantings. The data used as inputs to FullCAM includes the project’s location, planting dates, planting type, planting geometry (i.e., belts or blocks), plant spacing (distance between rows within a planting, distance between adjacent plantings), stocking density and tree proportion, where relevant. |
| Reporting requirements | The method sets out specific requirements for the first and subsequent reports. The information you are required to provide includes: • net abatement amount and related carbon stock data • data on emissions from biomass burning and fuel use, • project area, forest management and forest cover information • FullCAM files and output data. |
| Monitoring requirements | The method describes specific monitoring requirements, including using on-ground observation and/or remote-sensing imagery to: • monitor management and disturbance events, • demonstrate the requirements for any specific calibrations have been met |
| Record-keeping requirements | The method describes record-keeping requirements related to: • forest cover and plantings • stratification into carbon estimation areas • fires • fuel use • FullCAM modelling • forest management • any specific calibrations used. • the project area. |
| Audits | All projects receive an audit schedule when the project is declared and must provide audit reports according to this schedule. In most cases, a minimum of 3 audits will be scheduled and additional audits may be triggered. An initial audit report must be submitted with the first report for your project. |
| Specialist skills | To ensure the required level of accuracy of the inputs to FullCAM for calculating carbon stock, it may be necessary to seek assistance from a technical expert. You should consider the cost of this service before deciding to run a project. |
Carbon Yield
The annual carbon yield curve
The number of credits earned from implementing the methodology will mirror the growth in carbon stocks as the trees grow. The carbon yield curve shows that the first few years of growth are modest, but by around year 7, annual yields peak and then trail off. This means that approximately half of all ACCUs will be issued in the first 10 years.
This graph is based on the FULLCam calculation tool.
