Wet Tropics rainforest restoration project secures CO2 Australia’s fourth Environmental Account under the Accounting for Nature® Framework

Wet Tropics rainforest restoration project secures CO2 Australia’s fourth Environmental Account under the Accounting for Nature® Framework

CO2 Australia is proud to announce the certification of our fourth Environmental Account under the Accounting for Nature® Framework; the Saltwater Creek Carbon Project.

CO2 Australia achieved certification of Australia’s first Environmental Account by Accounting for Nature (AfN) in September 2021, with subsequent accounts certified in December 2022 and October 2023.

The Saltwater Creek Carbon project is a 25-year, $3.74 million collaboration between the Queensland Government and CO2 Australia in the Wet Tropics Bioregion of north Queensland. The project will re-establish approximately 55 hectares of tropical rainforest and eucalypt forest communities endemic to the region, incorporating 55 rainforest species into the plantings, which will result in improved connectivity between the property and the Mossman Gorge section of the Daintree National Park; part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. With confirmed threatened species records immediately adjacent the project such as southern cassowary, spot-tailed quoll, common mistfrog and tapping green-eyed frog, the project will also restore habitat and facilitate dispersal of these species across the broader landscape.

Accounting for Nature® accredited asset experts and CO2 Australia ecologists Dr Cath Bowler and Dr Jarrad Cousin completed all the necessary fieldwork and reporting to support the Environmental Account. This was undertaken using CO2 Australia’s own AfN-accredited Native Vegetation Econd® method. Following a rigorous independent audit, the Environmental Account was certified by AfN in September 2024.

If you would like any assistance with establishing an Environmental Account under the Accounting for Nature® Framework, whether it be for a carbon planting project, grazing enterprise or to track the condition of a natural area estate, please feel free to contact CO2 Australia and we will help you on the path to accounting for nature.

 

 

First Plantation Forestry Project – Forico

First Plantation Forestry Project – Forico

First Plantation Forestry Project – Forico

In a first for the Australian plantation forestry sector, CO2 Australia assisted Forico to register a project using the Plantation Forestry method under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.

Acting as Forico’s ACCU Scheme agent, CO2 Australia has also secured the first Carbon Abatement Contract for a project of this type, locking in ten years of forward ACCU sales revenue for the project. The project will see Forico transform 630 hectares into a new project based on developing long-term pine plantations. In total, the project is expected to deliver up to 68,959 tonnes of CO2e abatement over ten years.

Client
Forico

Location
Launceston, NSW

Dates
2018 – 2043

Industry
Timber

Services
Project registration, ACCU Scheme agent, tree measurement, reporting

Key benefits

First registration and Carbon Abatement Contract under the Plantation Forestry method

Ten years of secured revenue from ACCU sales

>68,000 tCO2e abatement

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Carbon Estate Project – Murrin Bridge Local Aboriginal Land Council

Carbon Estate Project – Murrin Bridge Local Aboriginal Land Council

Carbon Estate Project – Murrin Bridge Local Aboriginal Land Council

In one of the first projects of its kind, CO2 Australia worked with the New South Wales (NSW) Aboriginal Local Land Council to revegetate 220 hectares of degraded land as part of a forest carbon project now returning revenues back to the Traditional Owners of the project land.

The project is located near the Murrin Bridge Aboriginal community, 320 kilometres south of Dubbo, NSW. Most of the Indigenous people at Murrin Bridge can trace their roots back to the Ngiyampaa and Barkindji tribes and the community is seen as a ‘Koori place’ rather than that of one particular tribal group. CO2 Australia employs Traditional Owners in the project monitoring for this and data collection for other projects in regional NSW.

Client
NSW Aboriginal Land Council

Location
Murrin Bridge, Lake Cargelligo, NSW

Dates
2010 – 2035

Industry
Carbon, Aboriginal Land Council

Services
Project registration, management, tree measurement, reporting, land management

Key benefits

Employment and revenue generation for Traditional Owners

220 ha of degraded land revegetated to forest

25 years of land management and conservation

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Carbon Insetting – Tahbilk Winery

Carbon Insetting – Tahbilk Winery

Carbon Insetting – Tahbilk Winery

CO2 Australia and Tahbilk Winery have a long-standing relationship, beginning in 2012 when CO2 Australia assisted with the establishment of baselines and forecasts of carbon storage of revegetation activities on their property.

CO2 Australia developed a bespoke tree measurement method in 2018 for calculating carbon stock within Tahbilk’s landholdings. Our successful collaboration led to certification of their winery with the data accounted for by insetting to obtain certification under the Toitū Net Carbonzero Certification Programme. This programme supports organisations to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and implement strategies to manage, reduce and offset impacts.

Certification was again achieved following monitoring by CO2 Australia in 2023. Tahbilk is well-renowned within the Australian wine community for its sustainability initiatives and is one of the longest standing wine families in Victoria.

Client
Tahbilk Winery

Location
Goulburn Valley

Dates
2018, 2023

Industry
Wine

Services
Carbon measurement and reporting

Key benefits

Development of bespoke tree measurement method for calculating carbon stock

Successful certification under the Toitū Net Carbonzero Certification Programme

Setting sustainability standards in the wine industry

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Australia’s Largest Carbon Estate – Woodside

Australia’s Largest Carbon Estate – Woodside

Australia’s Largest Carbon Estate – Woodside

In 2008, Woodside Petroleum engaged CO2 Australia to deliver Australia’s biggest commercial emissions offset program based on dedicated carbon sink tree plantings.

This groundbreaking initiative pre-dated the Clean Energy Regulator and was the largest planting project of its kind ever undertaken within Australia. The project was a $100 million contract in which we delivered 20,000 hectares of tree plantings across Western Australia and New South Wales.

We act as the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme agent to Woodside and have successfully registered four ACCU Scheme projects in relation to this program. As agent, we manage all aspects of ACCU production over the 30-year lifetime of these carbon assets, and provide a range of advisory services to Woodside, including around ACCU delivery scheduling and delivery risk mitigation. CO2 Australia is contracted to manage these plantings for 50 years and we continue to monitor and measure their performance. This collaboration includes Indigenous employment opportunities for the tree measurement program, land management and landholder relationship management at the location of the tree plantings.

Client
Woodside Petroleum

Location
Regional WA and NSW

Dates
2008 – 2058

Industry
Resources

Services
Land acquisition and management, planting, tree monitoring, ACCU Scheme agent, reporting

Key benefits

Over 20,000 ha of tree plantings across WA and NSW

Successful registration of four ACCU Scheme projects for this program

Indigenous stakeholder employment and benefits

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