CATTLE Australia (CA) has condemned the Federal Government’s decision today to suspend the Beef Herd Method for accounting carbon emission reductions as yet another sneaky, short-sighted betrayal of an industry that is the largest sustainable land manager in Australia.
The Emissions Reduction Assaurance Committee, which is responsible for approving carbon methodologies, announced via the Department of Environment’s website that it was cancelling new registrations for the methodology because it does not believe it complies with integrity standards.
The beef herd methodology allowed producers to claim carbon credits by making their herds more efficient, through either breeding efficiency or increased daily weight gains – the idea being that producing more with less reduced emissions intensity. Scale was always needed for the methodology with most of the participants signed up to the program being corporate cattle companies in north – many of them using it to dip their toe in the carbon market.
According to the Australian Carbon Credit Unit register, the three companies to be credited under the scheme have been AA Co, Consolidated Pastoral Company and Paraway Pastoral Company. Those companies and the others already signed up will be able to keep their projects going.
The methodology has had its administrative, with the calculator used to measure credits changing. The changes the calculator had delayed credit issuances and created concern from some of the participants who believed the proposed changes were inaccurate.
Adam Coffey
CA Deputy Chair Adam Coffey said Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen had used the distraction of the upcoming Christmas period to divert attention away from his decision to prevent new applications to use this high-impact and successful method of incentivising sustainable agricultural management practices.
“The decision today can only be described as duplicitous and ill-considered, given the deadline for submissions to the Government’s own review of carbon accounting methods does not close until the end of January next year,” Mr Coffey said.
“Clearly our Federal Government has no interest in achieving genuine outcomes that enhance emission offsets otherwise this ridiculous decision would never have been made.
“Of the 19 recognised methods for accounting for carbon mitigation, the Beef Herd Method has delivered the fourth biggest volume of Australia Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) – a total of 953,241 ACCUs which equates to an offset of more than 1 million tonnes of emissions.”
Mr Coffey said this significant contribution had been delivered from just 11 projects, demonstrating the potential of the system to have an even greater impact as participation increases.
“While a few large producers have led the way in understanding and implementing the Beef Herd Method, there are many more cattle producers ready to participate in this vital carbon market once the value of ACCUs rises to a point to make it viable for smaller operations in to invest in long-term projects.
“Closing off the Beef Herd Method is short sighted in the extreme and fails to take into account future market changes. This decision intentionally takes commercial opportunities away from beef producers and misses an opportunity for larger-scale carbon abatement through regional and rural Australia.”
Mr Coffey said the fact registered participants would be free to continue utilising the method to accrue ACCUs, further demonstrated the value of the Beef Herd Method and the nonsensical decision of the Government at a time when they are purportedly encouraging agricultural land owners and managers to invest in emission offset programs.
“The decision also ignores the massive investment the Australian beef industry has made in research and development projects that have delivered new pasture species, nutritional additives and genetic technologies to help us achieve our goal of climate neutrality,” he said.
“The grazing sector has been proactive in responding to calls to implement practices that minimise climate impacts – we urge the Federal Government to repeal its decision and open access for increased participation in the Beef Herd Method as an effective financial incentive for climate abatement.”
Source: Cattle Australia