NAB WELCOMES VOLUNTARY MARKET - CRACKS IN THE WALL?

UNDER THE HEADLINE "Carbon trading to be part of business for Aust farmers", Rachel O’Neill, head of nabCapital’s Carbon Solutions Group was reported as telling a conference in Melbourne what the members of Carbon Farmers of Australiaa know: that the Voluntary Market is still available to Australian farmers:
"Farms can still participate in carbon emissions trading even though they have been excluded from the new Australian Climate Change policy, released in July," she said.
Ms O’Neill believes the time is right in Australia for innovative approaches to carbon trading and the development of new offset methodologies.
“There were practical reasons why the sector was not included, mainly to do with measurement uncertainties for carbon on-farm and the administration costs of many small sites, but the sector can still participate by generating ‘offsets’ for use in the scheme." 'Such potential offsets may include changes to fertilising practices and reduced land clearing as well as a move to farming practices such as no till which increases the carbon sequestered in the soil,' said the press release.
"Ms O’Neill told the conference there is already a voluntary carbon exchange operating in Chicago in the United States which provides examples of how farmers in Australia could be involved in carbon trading in the future...
“The Chicago Climate Exchange is expected to trade almost 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2007, with carbon credits trading at around $US3.80/tonne. In one example, farmers are earning greenhouse gas offsets through practising conservation tillage and planting grasses and trees."
“NAB is already building capacity in carbon financing through our nabCapital Carbon Solutions Group, which we formed in 2006 to identify the opportunities in the evolving carbon finance market,” Ms O’Neill said.
“We’re keen to assist clients manage their risks and take advantage of the new markets that are emerging. I have no doubt that carbon trading will soon be a part of every day business management for Australia’s forward thinking farmers.”
Hooray for the NAB.