How you can benefit
Opportunities and benefits for Queenslanders
Queensland is well placed to be Australia’s major source of ‘premium’ carbon credits over the next two decades. Our large and diverse landscape gives us an advantage in the use of carbon farming methods that also deliver environmental, socio-economic and First Nations co-benefits.
As demand for carbon credits increases over time, landholders, farmers and First Nations peoples can earn an ongoing income and gain a range of other benefits through carbon farming. As carbon abatement increases over time, landholders, farmers and First Nations peoples can earn an ongoing income and gain a range of other benefits through carbon farming.
Carbon farming is benefitting Queensland landholders, businesses and communities through:
Regional Queensland communities have a clear need for further economic opportunity. Carbon farming can support landholders to generate new, regular income streams through carbon farming projects.
Active, on-ground management is crucial to maintaining Queensland’s natural landscapes which contribute to the prosperity of regional, rural and remote communities.
The jobs generated by carbon farming include:
- labour for tree planting and fencing to keep cattle out of creeks and rivers
- suppliers of goods and services for fencing, irrigation and watering infrastructure, and pest, weed and fire management
- new enterprises that deliver drone services and IT infrastructure to monitor and report on project outcomes
- carbon, land management and financial advisory services
- grazing land and cattle management
- specialist services such as soil carbon measuring, water quality monitoring and ecological surveys
- nurseries and seed collection
- carbon project developers and advisory services
- research and science services for on-the-ground research and monitoring.
Across Australia, Indigenous-owned carbon projects are creating jobs and supporting opportunities for Indigenous people to care for Country. Income from carbon farming can support Indigenous landholders to invest in other ventures that benefit their communities.
The Indigenous Carbon Projects Guide has been developed to help Indigenous groups maximise the benefits from carbon projects for the country and community while being aware of the risks of getting involved in the market.
Restoration of Queensland’s ecosystems and protection for threatened species
Queensland is home to extraordinary biodiversity, including many species and ecosystems found nowhere else in the world. Carbon projects can deliver many environmental benefits beyond carbon reduction, such as:
- supporting the health of wetlands
- improving catchment condition including those flowing to the Great Barrier Reef
- reducing the risk of continued species loss, particularly from habitat loss, climate change, and cumulative development impacts
- restoring habitat for koalas
- improving the amount and condition of habitat available to threatened species and ecosystems.
Queensland is home to extraordinary biodiversity, including many species and ecosystems found nowhere else in the world. The LRF is supporting projects that sequester carbon and deliver additional benefits such as:
- supporting the health of Queensland’s wetlands
- improving catchment condition including those flowing to the Great Barrier Reef
- reducing the risk of continued species loss, particularly from habitat loss, climate change, and cumulative development impacts
- restoring habitat for koalas
- improving the amount and condition of habitat available to threatened species and ecosystems.
Regional-specific opportunities
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, eucalypt forests, coastal heath, savanna, woodlands
- Long history of agricultural activity: grazing, dairying, horticulture
- Strengths
- Indigenous knowledge of land management and agriculture, including managing protected areas
- Potential for scale and new business opportunities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and changing climate
Most relevant carbon methods
- Savanna fire management methods
- Environmental plantings
- Native forest from managed regrowth
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands and coastal ecosystems.
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, eucalypt forests, coastal heath, savanna, eucalypt woodlands
- Strengths
- Indigenous knowledge of land management and agriculture, including managing protected areas
- Potential for scale and new business opportunities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and changing climate
Most relevant carbon methods
- Savanna fire management methods
- Environmental plantings
- Native forest from manages regrowth
- Forestry
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems
- Long history of agricultural activity
- Strengths
- Established industries: beef, cropping, forestry
- Close to protected areas
- Strong and growing communities
- Challenges
- Changing climate: hotter days, less rainfall
- Ageing population: median age~57
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings
- Native forest from managed regrowth
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, wetlands and soil health
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: coral reefs, wetlands, hinterlands, forests
- Long history of agricultural activity, particularly grazing and cropping
- Strengths
- Expertise in agriculture and tourism
- Potential for scale
- Strong, stable, and diverse communities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and a changing climate
- Managing coastal population and fragile landscapes
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings
- Native forest from managed regrowth
- Avoided clearing
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands and coastal ecosystems
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, coastal heathland, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands
- Long history of agricultural activity, particularly grazing and cropping
- Strengths
- Expertise in agriculture and tourism
- Potential for aggregation
- Strong, stable, and diverse communities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and a changing climate
- Urbanisation and competition for land
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings
- Native forest from managed regrowth
- Soil carbon methods
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, wetlands and coastal ecosystems
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation