Tackling the climate change challenge requires deep cuts to existing emissions and the removal of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. In recognition of this need, the Australian Government created the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme in 2011 to encourage projects that reduce emissions or store carbon. Projects under this scheme can cover a vast array of activities, from supplementing livestock feed to establishing new or continuing existing forest plantations. Given that growing trees has proven to be the most effective means of removing carbon dioxide at scale, forest-based projects create great opportunities for carbon removal and sequestration under the ACCU Scheme.
Following a workshop held in Launceston in June 2024, the TPE produced a report for the Tasmanian Forestry Hub that provides a timely industry perspective on Tasmania’s forest carbon market. The report covers its strengths, barriers to expansion, and strategies and reforms that will help ensure the sustainable growth of forest-carbon projects in Tasmania.
One key workshop finding was that while ACCUs provide an important additional source of income, the decision to invest in forest-based carbon projects rests largely on other factors - including the commercial return on the resulting forest products. So while ACCUs alone provide insufficient incentive, they may help incentivise plantation establishment and forest management practices designed to maximise carbon storage. As such, there are improvements that could be made to reduce some of the barriers for forest-based ACCU projects and broaden the Tasmanian forest carbon market, without compromising the integrity of the scheme.
For more information, read our discussion paper: Tasmanian forests and the carbon market: Barriers and opportunities, August 2024 (PDF 852.9 KB)
Thank you to all those who participated in the workshop.