CFI 18 month report card
The Australian Government has issued its 18 month report card on the CFI and the picture is upbeat: 70 projects, 20 methodologies, and a host of methodologies to roll out over the next year or so.
CFI projects to date. Source: Australian Government
A market emerging? Maybe. But we need to be realistic about the scheme’s heavy reliance on landfill projects to this point – these projects mostly centre around capturing methane gas from waste sites. So far there are 46 landfill projects that have delivered 97 per cent of the credits. This is not bad, just that it is easier for these projects to get going. But only 3 other projects have received credits so far.
How many Indigenous projects are there? One – Fish River, a savanna project, which has been issued credits (the project is held by the Indigenous Land Corporation, but all proceeds go towards managing the property and employing traditional owners). There are many other would be Indigenous projects in various stages of planning and implementation, mostly around savanna. While there are 10 other savanna projects, these all relate to one property which is not Indigenous owned.
We would like to focus on broadening the tools available for Indigenous landowners to include rangeland restoration and enrichment (bush foods). More suitable tools will mean more projects. The Government estimates a rangelands methodology may be available by the end of the year but there is no estimate for enrichment. A low rainfall savanna methodology may be available in early 2014.
