THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Cabinet Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
3HA HAMILTON – INTERVIEW WITH LOIS CHISLETT ‐ BREAKFAST WITH
JOHN VERTIGAN
SUBJECT: CARBON FARMING INITIATIVE
E & O E – PROOF ONLY
9 DECEMBER 2011
SUBJECT: CARBON FARMING INITIATIVE
LOIS CHISLETT: The Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative is being implemented and joining us on Country Today this morning is Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus. How are you going Mark?
MARK DREYFUS: Good to be with you Lois.
LOIS CHISLETT: Now Mark the CFI allows farmers to earn carbon credits, so first of all just explain to us a little bit about how this is all going to work.
MARK DREYFUS: The Carbon Farming Initiative is a key component of the Gillard Government’s Clean Energy Future package. It’s a scheme where farmers, land holders can earn carbon credits for reducing emissions from their activities or storing carbon on the land through generally sequestration projects. And examples of it are methodologies that have already been approved, there’s an approved methodology for the destruction of methane from piggeries, there’s an approved methodology for the capture and combustion of methane from landfill and other methodologies are going to be approved soon.
LOIS CHISLETT: And I’d imagine Mark that the Federal Government is hoping that all farmers, no matter what type of farming they are involved in, will become involved in the Carbon Farming Initiative.
MARK DREYFUS: Yes absolutely, when methodologies are available that suit farmers’ particular activities, we’d be very much hoping that farmers would take the opportunity to earn extra money, while reducing carbon pollution.
LOIS CHISLETT: So what are some of the most effective ways or the most popular ways that farmers can introduce CFI on to their properties?
MARK DREYFUS: We are looking at methodologies; one of the ones that is likely to come on early is a revegetation methodology that is plantings of native species on previously cleared land. Other methodologies are being developed that will deal with fertiliser use and possibly in the longer term reducing emissions from livestock, so that’s different practices of raising livestock. Up in the north of Australia, there is a savanna
fire management methodology which is about reducing emissions from large scale savanna burning that occurs every year in the Top End.
LOIS CHISLETT: So Mark is it going to be costly for farmers to introduce CFI on to their properties or will it be hugely beneficial to them in the long run?
MARK DREYFUS: Well we see it as a means of earning an extra revenue stream and the methodologies that have already been approved, and the methodologies that are in prospect, are methodologies that are going to be able to be used by farmers that will earn them money for reducing carbon emissions from their activities.
LOIS CHISLETT: And Mark will it depend what area of the country you are farming in as to what you do introduce in to your property, or is it just general across the board?
MARK DREYFUS: No, there’s going to be different methodologies available in different parts of the country. The example I just gave a moment ago, the savanna burning methodology, that’s going to available only in the high rainfall areas in the Top End of the country. There are likely to be methodologies of more general application but again it’s going to depend of what part of the country you’re in, what sort of land you’ve got
available and what your farming activities are.
LOIS CHISLETT: And is Australia leading the world in this area or is it already currently introduced in many other areas around the world?
MARK DREYFUS: This particular form of earning carbon credits through reducing emissions on, in the land sector, is very very highly regarded around the word because Australia is seen as a country with tremendous integrity in our processes and a lot of countries are looking with interest at this Carbon Farming Initiative and indeed we’ve had quite a lot of enquiry from countries that are keen to adopt similar methods. We think it’s important that people in the land sector can assist in the emissions reduction task that we’ve got.
LOIS CHISLETT: So for farmers who would like to find out more information about Carbon Farming Initiative, how do they go about that?
MARK DREYFUS: Farmers can go to www.climatechange.gov.au and go from there.
LOIS CHISLETT: Well its very interesting Mark and thanks very much for explaining to us this morning on Country Today.
MARK DREYFUS: Thanks Lois.
ENDS
