Legislation for the Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative has received royal assent on the 15 September 2011. The Act is available on ComLaw.

 

The CFI is a voluntary scheme that will provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and land managers, and help the environment by reducing carbon pollution. Participants will be eligible to receive carbon credits for the carbon pollution saved or stored by their activities.

 

The legislation will provide long-term certainty to participants of the CFI and underpin the environmental integrity and market value of carbon credits.

 

CFI projects may include activities like: reforestation, forest management and native forest protection; savanna fire management; landfill gas recovery; manure management; management of methane from livestock; and storage of carbon in soils and biochar.

 

The scheme will be operational from the start of December 2011.