Rockhampton farmers eye off credits during carbon farming workshop

Published on 19 July 2017

The next time passengers tick the box to offset carbon emissions when booking a flight it could be Rockhampton farmers reaping the benefits.

Rockhampton Regional Council has partnered with QANTAS to deliver Queensland’s first Carbon Farming Workshop in our city.

More than 25 local landholders attended the event along with representatives from QANTAS, CSIRO and GreenCollar with Environment Councillor Drew Wickerson labelling it a massive success.

“The Carbon Farming Initiative allows farmers and land managers to earn carbon credits by storing carbon or reducing greenhouse gas emissions on their land,” Cr Wickerson said.

“The Federal Government guarantees income over 10 years for approved projects and once the 10 year period is up, the “credits” earned can then be sold to people and businesses to offset their emissions.

“How those carbon credits are earned can be as simple as planting new trees with GreenCollar assisting landholders by offering a free assessment on their property outlining what initiatives can be done.

“This is a fantastic initiative which not only helps the environment but puts money back into local landholder’s pockets.

“Carbon farming is a growing market in Australia with over $1.3 billion worth of contracts already established between the Federal Government and landholders and we look forward to future developments in this space for local landholders,” Cr Wickerson said.

For more information, head to http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction-fund/cfi/about