While a carbon emissions scheme might be missing the mark across the country, projects in the Townsville region are likely success stories.
New research shows that most areas under a federal government scheme designed to reduce carbon emissions or store carbon don’t protect the habitat of threatened species.
The Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) Scheme was originally launched in 2011 (as the Carbon Farming Initiative) and supports projects that avoid the release of greenhouse gas emissions or remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, as well as kicking goals for biodiversity conservation.
James Cook University researchers found that species most in need of habitat restoration are the least likely to get it under the ACCU scheme.
“Where ACCU Scheme projects are most needed – in privately owned agricultural land that is cleared of habitat – they are small and few. Yet this is where most of Australia’s threatened species are,” James Cook University Adjunct Associate Professor Penny van Oosterzee said.
“The (Townsville region) properties… are in a region of relatively high richness of threatened species. I would say that any projects that occur in the region will be important, particularly if there are few protected areas in those regions.
“Our research shows the importance of carbon projects to supplement protected area protections.”
Published this week in the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, Dr van Oosterzee and PhD candidate Jayden Engert’s research shows ACCU Scheme projects are primarily located on marginal arid and semi-arid areas, which support habitats for just 6% of Australia’s threatened species.
This is the first national assessment of its kind in the world found that species most in need of habitat restoration are the least likely to get it under the ACCU scheme.
“Where ACCU Scheme projects are most needed – in privately owned agricultural land that is cleared of habitat – they are small and few. Yet this is where most of Australia’s threatened species are,” Dr van Oosterzee said.
“The bottom line is the carbon projects are not where threatened species are, so they are doing little for conservation.”
These findings provide important insights for Australia’s world-first legislated market for biodiversity, the Nature Repair Market, which is based on the carbon credits legislation.
“Nature repair projects should learn from this and aim to protect existing vegetation in the populated and productive areas of Australia that would otherwise have been lost, and by restoring vegetation that has been lost in these areas of high species richness,” Dr van Oosterzee said.
“Speeding up the environmental law reform agenda is crucial. Nature repair projects should be underpinned by regulations that prevent further destruction and be aligned with national priorities for biodiversity conservation.”
Dr van Oosterzee warned that government policies that have focused on lowest cost abatement will have a perverse outcome by driving projects to marginal, large low-cost areas that do not overlap the ranges of species threatened by habitat loss.
“Currently ACCU Scheme projects discriminate against small projects that work toward protecting areas of high threatened species richness because of the high cost of restoration,” she said.
“There is, however, a silver lining: where ACCU Scheme projects do occur, they can supplement National Park conservation. ACCU scheme projects overlap the geographic range of a third of the 1660 threatened species, and some threatened species are only protected within those projects.”
ACCU project and contract register | Clean Energy Regulator
What is the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme?
The Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme encourages people and businesses to run projects that reduce emissions or store carbon, for example by:
- using new technology
- upgrading equipment
- changing business practices to improve productivity or energy use
- changing the way vegetation is managed.
How it works
Under the ACCU Scheme, participants run projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse emissions (emissions avoidance) or remove and store carbon from the atmosphere (sequestration). Participants can earn one ACCU for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO₂-e) emissions their project stores or avoids.
Participants can sell ACCUs on the secondary market or to the Australian Government by entering a carbon abatement contract.
On the secondary market, private buyers purchase ACCUs to voluntarily offset their emissions or meet compliance requirements.
Buyers also include Australia’s highest emitting facilities under the Safeguard Mechanism. They’re required to keep emissions below set baselines and can do this by buying and surrendering ACCUs. Safeguard facilities can also earn ACCUs by running their own projects.
Where it’s at – local projects registered under the Australian Carbon Credit Scheme:
- 3 projects located between Charters Towers and Hughenden
- Pelham Springs Regeneration Project
- North Queensland Conservation Initiative Site #4
- North Queensland Conservation Initiative Site #2
- Stuart Landfill Gas Project
- National Carbon Bank of Australia Commercial and Public Lighting ERF Aggregator Project*, Stuart
- Jensen Landfill Gas Project
- National Carbon Bank of Australia Commercial and Public Lighting ERF Aggregator Project*, North Townsville
- Townsville SSO Kerbside diversion project
- Hervey Range Landfill Gas Project
* These projects are a lighting upgrade project that is modifying the lighting system, replacing the lighting system and/or supplementing the lighting system of multiple types of serviced areas.
* Dr van Oosterzee’s research does not address landfill gas, lighting, or kerbside diversion projects.
