CER - Clean Energy Regulator - The independent statutory authority (legislated under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011). Its main roles are to (i) oversee compliance of projects in relation to the legislation, (ii) receive project offset reports, and review, assess and approve those reports (if compliant) , (iii) issue ACCUs to project proponent and (iv) coordinate the purchasing of ACCUs through the ERF auction system.
Offset report – an eligible offsets report is made to the Clean Energy Regulator for a defined reporting period (typically a 12-month period, but it can vary) as part of the process to claim carbon credits (ACCUs). Reports include evidence of management activities, stratification and carbon abatement calculations.
Stratification – a process that classifies the area of a carbon farming project into different categories. A stratification identifies Carbon Estimation Areas (CEAs). For HIR projects, a stratification classifies the vegetation into categories of existing forest cover, carbon estimation areas, and areas with no current evidence of sufficient regeneration to become CEAs. Stratifications are updated over time. This is typically required every 5 years or if there is ever a modification to a methodology or reporting requirements - known as a ‘re-stratification’.
CFI - Carbon Farming Initiative. The legislation underpinning carbon projects – “Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011”.
ERF - Emissions Reduction Fund – The pool of funds allocated by the Australian Government to the CER to purchase ACCUs. Recently re-badged to Climate Solutions Fund.
CSF- Climate Solutions Fund - a fund that established in 2019 and follows the ERF to continue purchasing low-cost abatement, build on the success.
LRF- Land Restoration Fund – the Queensland Government’s fund to help expand carbon farming in the state by supporting land-sector projects that deliver additional environmental, social and economic co-benefits.
ANREU - Australian National Registry of Emissions Units. Regulated by the CER this is where your carbon credit account is held and successful credits are issued, held and traded. Think of this as your share account
REC Registry - Renewable Energy Certificate Registry - is an online system that tracks the ownership and status of all renewable energy certificates and all certificates must be created in the REC Registry before they can be bought, sold traded or surrendered.
ACCU - Australian Carbon Credit Unit. - Equivalent to 1 tonne of CO2-e abatement that is issued by the CER. As the carbon credit produced from the regulated industry, it is the only carbon credit used by Australia in reporting our national ‘carbon accounts’. An ACCUs is a financial unit, and legally treated as a property right, in that once an ACCUs is generated it can be traded and owned by different entities.
CO2-e - Carbon dioxide equivalent. A measure of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide equivalence is estimated by multiplying the amount of gas by the global warming potential of the gas.
CAC- Carbon Abatement Contract - A contract to deliver and sell ACCUs to the Australian Government, via the CER auction system, under the ERF.
Secondary Market. Non-government buyers of ACCUs. Includes a range of large emitters, such as oil and gas companies, energy producers, airlines etc. Sales of ACCUs can be on a spot market, short-term or longer-term offtake agreements, or other more sophisticated structures (including ‘options’).
EIH – Eligible Interest Holder - An eligible interest-holder under the Emissions Reduction Fund is a person or organisation that has a specific legal interest in the land on which a project is being, or will be, conducted. This includes listed people or organistions on land titles, as well as financial institutions that hold a mortgage over the land, registered native title bodies corporate, or in the case of Crown land, the relevant Minister.
A methodology. One of the approved methods that is consistent with the legislation, approved by an Expert Panel, the Emissions Reduction Advisory Committee (ERAC), and coordinated by the CER. If a methodology is followed and compliance achieved, it becomes eligible to be issued ACCUs.
A project. The scale at which management activities occurs and at which reporting is completed. Normally, for land-based methodologies, a project is an entire property, but it can be a portion of a property (i.e., areas within a property can be excluded from a project).
HIR – Human-Induced Regeneration carbon project. HIR is the method suited to pastoral properties where there is regenerating woody vegetation that is capable of reaching 2 m or more in height with canopy area of at least 20% by area (assessed on a 0.2 ha scale).
CEA- Carbon Estimation Area - area of land within a project area, where eligible project activities are carried out, and for which a project participant expects to receive ACCUs
Crediting period & Permanence period. The crediting period is 25 years from project commencement, which is the period over which ACCUs can be earned. The permanence period is 25 years from the date that the first ACCUs are issued, which is the time that the carbon stocks must be retained in the landscape.
FullCAM- Full Carbon Accounting Model – online model platform that allows you to estimate the change in your land’s carbon stock for your project. It is to be used for specific methods that require carbon estimation that changes over time.
FC- Forest Cover - cover of woody vegetation that covers 0.2ha and forms a canopy cover between 20 per cent and reaches 2 meters tall
BF- Baseline Forest - the cover of forest that is present at the time of the start of the project
SW- Sparse Woody- cover of woody vegetation that covers 0.2ha and forms a canopy cover between 5-19 per cent.
NFSW (NFSWVD)- Native Forest and Sparse Woody Vegetation Data - cover of woody vegetation that covers 0.2ha and forms a canopy cover between 5-19 per cent.
SOC – Soil Organic Carbon - Soil organic carbon is a measurable component of soil organic matter.