Carbon Farming – Calculators – Markets
What is carbon farming?
Carbon farming is using agricultural practices or managing land for:
- Sequestration: increasing the storage of carbon by the landscape in vegetation (ie planting and retaining trees) or soil (promoting soil health by adding organic matter through composting or cover cropping, minimizing soil disturbance and ensuring ground cover with healthy plants); and/or
- Reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions: emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
TreeProject is supporting landholders involved in the Victorian Carbon Farming Program (VCFP).
To learn more about carbon farming and how you can implement practices on your property see:
Using a carbon calculator to understand your emissions and carbon balance
There is a diversity of carbon calculators available which can be used to better understand your emissions. For a comparison of some of the main carbon calculators available see: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction/agricultural-land-sectors/carbon-farming-outreach-program/training-package/topic-3/4-calculators
As discussed, planting vegetation is important for sequestering carbon. However, it should also be remembered that there are stores of carbon in nature that are vulnerable to release from human activity, and, if lost could not be restored by 2050. This is called ‘irrecoverable carbon’ and includes carbon currently stored in trees, that if cleared, can’t be quickly restored, contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Carbon farming or carbon market?
Landholders can benefit from implementing carbon farming practices to improve productivity and environmental outcomes, including reducing net emissions. It is also important that landholders understand sources of their emissions and options for reducing them.
A carbon market is a trading system where carbon credits are sold and bought. Carbon credits are generated by carrying out activities (projects) that store, reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Projects using approved methods can earn one carbon credit for every tonne of carbon dioxide (or carbon dioxide equivalent) stored, reduced or avoided by a project. There are financial and legal obligations which landholders must be aware of, so it is important to always seek your own independent financial and legal advice. Further if landholders do engage in carbon projects, they should consider whether it is more useful to retain them for their own purposes, before selling them e.g. for their own carbon neutral claims, market access or reporting.
Click here to read more about the benefits of indigenous revegetation.