Select Carbon Pty Ltd is pleased to confirm that the Clean Energy Regulator has approved the company’s Native Conifers Carbon Sink Project, the first carbon sequestration project of its kind in Australia under the Permanent Environmental Plantings methodology (Quantifying Carbon Sequestration by Permanent Environmental Plantings of Native Species using the CFI Modelling Tool) approved for use in the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI).

The project involves the planting of Australian native conifer species, including kauri pine, hoop pine and bunya pine, on undulating cattle grazing land on the southern Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns. Select Carbon is partnering with landholders to spread the benefits of carbon finance into rural and regional Queensland. The company aims to continue to plant native conifers to establish a regional carbon pool in north Queensland.

Targeted land excludes Strategic Cropping Land that is important for agricultural production purposes, and Select Carbon has worked closely with the Tablelands Regional Council and the Queensland State Government to ensure the project meets relevant planning policy guidelines.

“Over time native conifers will provide the forest architecture to encourage the development of a bio-diverse shade-tolerant rainforest understorey. Native conifers are all ancient Gondwanan species from the Family Araucariaceae that sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide and generate carbon credits. These tree species were present well before the dinosaurs were wiped out and have proven resilient to climate change over the past 200 million years, which is why we think that they have a major role to play in climate change mitigation in north Queensland ” said Select Carbon Director Mr Daryl Killin.

Contact Details:

Media Contact: Daryl Killin

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone: 0419 019 010

www.selectcarbon.com

Native Conifer pictures can be found online here: Native Conifer Pictures

Investing into a carbon forestry plantation (carbon sink) is a long-term strategy that requires careful consideration and due diligence by the investor before they commit their funds. The investor needs to make sure their investment generates enough carbon credits to limit and reduce the costs associated with a carbon price.

Biochar is set to change the carbon farming landscape as we know it. In many cases biochar has been proven to increase soil carbon, helping to improve growth in existing crops and make previously unviable land potentially viable over time. As a result, farmers wil achieve higher productivity and hopefully, higher yields from their crops.

The History of Biochar

As many commentators have noted, there is nothing new about the idea of producing and using biochar to increase the fertility of soils. An ancient soil called 'tera pretta' has been used by traditional amazonian tribes for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The amazonian tribes used to bury large quantities of biochar into the soils which would help with the growth of edible plants by providing nutrients, improve water carrying capacity, and support various microbes in the soil which allow plants to have access to greater nutrient supplies.

When someone is looking to start a carbon project on their property, there are a few important questions they need to ask themselves first. The following article will try and help give people considering starting a carbon project, the information they need in order to make informed decisions about participating in Australia's new Carbon Farming Initiative.

First up, if you are a busy farmer or someone that is stretched for time, but still wish to have a successful carbon project up-and-running on your property, then you should consider outsourcing much of the 'heavy lifting' to a carbon company that specialises in their respective fields (i.e. Carbon Forestry, Capture and Combustion of Methane in Landfill Gas, Feral Animal Management etc). There is a few reasons why you should consider doing this.

For starters, there is A LOT of work involved in even getting the project approved by the Government in the first place, let alone getting to the fun part of actually 'doing' your carbon project (i.e. planting trees or capturing methane). It can't be underestimated just how much due diligence and just how much of your time, is required to get a project up and running (Trust me, I'm speaking from experience!).

The Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) is a carbon offsets scheme established by the Australian Government to provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and landholders. Please watch the explainer video below to see how the CFI can work for you.

Select Carbon is regonised under the federal government's CFI as an offical offsets entity. Any landholders that are interested in starting a project on their property should contact us so we can evaluate your property to see which kind of project suits you and your property most. Please call 07 4041 6639.

Just under 12 months ago, Select Carbon was commissioned by Timber Queensland and the Queensland Government to do a Best Practice Guide for Timber Plantations in Tropical Cyclonic Areas. Today we are happy to announce the Guide has been finished and released for public viewing.

Please click here to view the Best Practice Guide for Timber Plantations in Tropical Cyclonic Areas

The guide reviews the impacts of tropical cyclones on the timber-growing sector of the tropical Queensland region. It aims to provide useful guidance to small and large growers on the factors that need to be considered when growing trees in this region. Variables explored in the guide include: tree species, plantation design, timber plantation age, location in the landscape and management (silvicultural) practices.

The Australian Standards relating to wind that are used by the building industry were examined to see what could be applicable to timber plantations. Wind shielding and topography were found toplay an important role in wind speeds. The Best Practice Guide for Timber Plantations in Tropical Cyclonic Areas of Queensland also includes a case study on Cyclone Yasi, with analyses of many of the sites and species that were directly impacted by the Tropical Cyclone.

Select Carbon has officially been recognised as an offsets entity by the Australian Government.

This allows Select Carbon to undertake projects under the Carbon Farming Initiative and be issued with Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). We are responsible for all aspects of project development including all auditing monitoring and reporting.

The Carbon Farming Initiative is a great way for landholders to get involved with the emerging carbon market in Australia, while also providing liable companies under the carbon price, a practical and meaningful way to offset their emissions.

Select Carbon is currently preparing a number of exciting projects to be submitted to the Australian Government for approval.

If you wish to find out more about the Carbon Farming Initiative, there is a new Carbon Farming Initiative Handbook which can be found here.

Select Carbon, in partnership with MacDonnells Law will be presenting a legal overview of the Clean Energy Plan and the Carbon Farming Initiative on Friday 23rd March at MacDonnells Law office on the corner of Shields and Grafton street.

The seminar will be from 7:45am - 9:00am (light breakfast will be provided). Please see flier for further information.

We encourage all local businesses to come along and listen to some of the implications of a Carbon Tax on your business and some of the opportunities it presents for forward-thinking businesses to invest in local Carbon Farming projects.

As companies around Australia begin to come to grips with the new carbon pollution laws, many people are asking - 'who pays the carbon tax?'...

As a general rule, businesses emitting more than 25 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or consuming more than 25 000 megawatts of electricity or 2.5 million litres of fuel in a year, can expect to be liable under the new 'carbon tax'.

To understand why these businesses must pay the new 'carbon tax', you need to understand the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act that passed the parliament and became law in 2007.

Basically, it is a way for the Government to monitor how many greenhouse gases Australia as a whole is emitting and who is responsible for those emissions. The reason the government is interested in doing this, among others, is so it can report to other nations around the world, particularly those that signed the Kyoto Protocol, how many emissions we are responsible for or how much carbon abatement we have produced through undertaking Kyoto activities.

The new 'carbon tax' is set to be introduced in July next year in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest economic reforms seen in Australia for a long time.

Businesses need to be ready whether they are liable to pay the carbon tax or not. All businesses must come to grips with the risks and opportunities arising from a price on Carbon and to ensure the types of support that are available are being optimised.

A lot of businesses simply don't know what they need to do and when they need to do it. Public confusion about the 'carbon tax' is obvious when I speak to people about the new laws.

However with a little careful planning, businesses will treat the new 'carbon tax' like they do any other uncertainty and volatility they deal with on a daily basis, and when the 'carbon tax' commences in July 2012, businesses wont be so daunted by the challenge of such a reform.

Yesterday was an an historic day for many reasons, not least because the Clean Energy Plan passed the lower house and a price will finally be set on carbon. Over the coming years our economy is set to be transformed through innovation in new green technologies combined with better use of our landscape to store carbon and generate carbon offsets.

When the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) commences in December, it will provide incentives to farmers and landholders alike to play a leading role in Australia's efforts to reduce emissions through carbon sequestration, simultaneously helping to transform degraded landscapes into carbon sinks around the country.

All of this is good news generally, but its really only the beginning of what can be achieved and there is still room for improvement from a land management perspective.

The CFI fails to recognise some very important drivers of investment into carbon sequestration projects throughout the Australian landscape.

Having said that Select Carbon can now move forward with certainty. We are able to work with companies in a timely manner to ensure they understand the consequences of the new Clean Energy legislation, as well as supply them with carbon offsets that are robust and verified to government standards.

Select Carbon welcomes the passing of the Clean Energy bills and we look forward to a more sustainable future.

In fact, the only thing that is relatively new is the mismanagement and overuse of forests and forest products.

Attached is a great short-film directed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and narrated by David Attenborough.

The video points out the long association humans have had with forests along with everything in it. It encourages people to think about the environment they live in and the role forests can play in an emerging green economy, particularly in developing countries.

Today SelectCarbon took part in the inaugural Austropex Conference, where business representatives with tropical expertise get together and discuss regional development, exchange ideas and connect with the business community.

Daryl Killin, partner at SelectCarbon was guest speaker and gave an excellent speech about some of the opportunities created for landholders and regional economies, through the Carbon Farming Initiative and The Clean Energy Plan.

Daryl's presentation can be viewed here.

SelectCarbon have been busy in Cape York recently working on a 2000ha carbon sequestration project. The project will use a combination of forest management practices including the following:

• Reforestation: Long-term revegetation (forestry) planting with the predominant purpose of carbon sequestration
• Improved Forest Management: Conservation of forestry ecosystems, conversion of low-productive forest to high-productive forest
• Sustainable Forestry: Sustainable timber harvest in-parallel to environmental (carbon) outcomes from permanent forest

The property is set to be the first of its kind in the Cape, combining multiple forest management approaches to create a large carbon sink.

The carbon farming initiative helps landholders make the most of marginal areas on their property by turning those areas into carbon sinks. To enquire about a carbon sink on your property, please contact us for a confidential discussion.

We all hear about the price of carbon pollution and how much it is going to cost for polluters if they continue to emit carbon pollution into the atmosphere. But what does it all actually mean when the government says the price of carbon pollution will be $23 per tonne?

One of the most common errors by everyone (including scientists, politicians and myself) is the terminology we use while talking about climate change.

We tend to talk about carbon instead of carbon dioxide, which is what we are actually interested in.

The difference is a factor of 3.67! Let me put this into perspective. If a company is offsetting 1 tonne of CO₂e, they are actually offsetting 3.67 tons of carbon.

So if a company decides to offset their emissions through planting trees, they are actually paying $84 per tonne of dry carbon.

The atomic weight of carbon is 12 atomic mass units, while the weight of carbon dioxide is 44, because it includes two oxygen atoms that each weigh 16. So, to switch from one to the other, use the formula: One ton of carbon equals 44/12 = 11/3 = 3.67 tons of carbon dioxide. Thus 11 tons of carbon dioxide equals 3 tons of carbon, and a price of $23 per ton of carbon dioxide equals a price of $84 per tonne of carbon.

That's one of the reasons trees are a great carbon sink. Please feel free to contact us for further explanation.

Cheers

Recently, the Government released details about the new Clean Energy Agreement that aims to reduce the country's emissions by 5% of 2000 levels by 2020.

This will be achieved by introducing a fixed price on carbon pollution on the 1st of July, 2012. The price will be AU$23 per tonne CO₂e  (rising at 2.5% per annum).

Preceding this, on 1st July 2015, an emissions trading scheme will be introduced meaning the price of carbon will be flexible and will be dertermined by the market.

There will be a price ceiling and floor that will apply for the first three years of the flexible price period. The price ceiling will be set at $20 above the expected international price and will rise by 5% each year. The price floor will be $15 rising annually by 4%.

Initially the carbon pollution tax will cover approximately 60% of Australia's emissions (360M t per annum) in the stationary energy sector, transport, industrial processes, non-legacy waste and fugitive emissions.

The Carbon Farming Initiative will play a major role in efforts to reduce Asutralia's emissions within a limited time. Companies are able to use Kyoto-compliant Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) created under the CFI to meet their obligations under the new plan.

For those who are still unsure about how exactly a price on carbon actually works, watch the video below for a simple explanation.

For anyone wanting to find out more about the Carbon Farming Initiative, feel free to drop us a line at anytime.

Cheers

Charlie

cairns office open for business

SelectCarbon has finally launched after alot of time and effort has gone into getting our head office set up in North Queensland. Thanks for everyone who has shown their support to date through Facebook. We look forward to keeping you up to date in the world of carbon, forestry and climate change.

We will be announcing some exciting projects in the near future as well as telling you a little bit more about what it is we do here at SelectCarbon. But for now, we are just trying to get a few of our processes in place, that includes coming up to speed with blogging technology!

Please have a read of our brochure when you get a chance.

Cheers

Charlie