The Federal Government has announced a new Carbon Farming Initative methodology that will aims to incentivise waste management industry and local governments to reduce emissions.

 

Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, said the Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative would now allow landfill operators and the clean energy businesses who work with them to create carbon credits by capturing potent methane emissions to produce electricity for sale to the grid, or destroy it through flaring.

 

"Landfill operators will now have the capacity to use credits for their own compliance with the carbon price, sell excess credits to other polluters or onto international carbon markets," Mr Dreyfus said.

 

Federal Member for Chisholm, Anna Burke, said landfill site operators who convert methane to carbon dioxide by generating electricity may also earn revenue from the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates under the Renewable Energy Target.

 

Australian Local Government Association President Mayor Genia McCaffery said the increased opportunity to reduce pollution and make productive use of methane emissions from old landfill waste will be applauded by councils and local communities across Australia.

 

The methodology and information on the Carbon Farming Initiative is available on the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website at: www.climatechange.gov.au/cfi.