Cattle farmers would be big winners under a new draft carbon credit method, and four Tasmanian forest protection projects that are no longer entitled to earn credits would be rescued under another.
The Federal Government has proposed amendments to Carbon Farming Initiative regulations that will make it possible to earn credits from three new activities, and WA iron ore projects might become a beneficiary.
Official estimates of how many tonnes of greenhouse gas must be abated to achieve a 5% target are now laughably over-stated, says the ANU's Andrew Macintosh, who also warns Queensland's wind-back of land clearing laws will cause an emissions spike.
The Victorian Government has introduced legislation that would remove the legislated target of a 20% emissions reduction by 2020, clarify carbon sequestration rights and abolish fees associated with pollution and clean-up notices.
The forest products industry wants upfront payments for 'future carbon value' to stimulate investment in plantations, describing it as a 'direct action' approach that could deliver millions of tonnes of abatement within a decade.
There is one fundamental reason why companies wanting CFI carbon credits will be paying top dollar over the next couple of years, says Elisa de Wit, head of Norton Rose's Australian climate change practice.