High integrity carbon offset projects should result in real and additional reductions in carbon emissions. When carbon offset projects lack integrity, they can increase carbon emissions.
Australia’s carbon offset projects must be undertaken in accordance with a specified set of rules known as ‘methods’.
By law, methods are supposed to meet six offsets integrity standards that are intended to ensure credited abatement is real and additional. These include:
Australia’s carbon offset scheme is currently dominated by three types of offset projects: human-induced regeneration, landfill gas, and avoided deforestation in Western New South Wales.
These projects account for almost 30% of issued Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs).
These projects account for approximately 27% of issued ACCUs.
These projects account for approximately 20% of issued ACCUs.
In March 2023, amendments were made to the Safeguard Mechanism to convert it from a regulatory scheme that was designed to prevent increases in emissions into a carbon pricing scheme that reduces emissions. Despite claims to the contrary, the deal between the Government and Australian Greens over the Safeguard legislation will not fix the problems with Australia’s carbon market. The deal did not place restrictions on the use of low integrity carbon credits or ensure the integrity issues with the offset scheme are addressed. Due to this, low integrity carbon projects will undermine the effectiveness of the Safeguard Mechanism in reducing emissions.
The Carbon Integrity Explorer is an initiative of the Centre for Environment and Integrity. It was made possible by a group of non-partisan public interest researchers who care about the integrity of the carbon offset market.
The Carbon Integrity Explorer provides information about carbon offsets projects registered under the Australian Government’s carbon offset scheme.
Registered projects can generate Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs). Each ACCU is supposed to represent 1 tonne of real and additional abatement of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Carbon Integrity Explorer uses government datasets to provide indicative information on whether projects are likely to be generating real and additional abatement.
The information contained in the Explorer is indicative only and should not be relied upon as a definitive measure of the extent to which projects have, or are likely to, generate real and additional abatement. The Explorer does not:·
The Carbon Integrity Explorer should not be relied on for the above purposes.
The Centre for Environment and Integrity Pty Ltd does not suggest or imply that any proponent of any project has done anything unlawful or unethical or that ACCUs issued to any project are not legitimate or valid. The indicative risk rating is an indicative measure of the abatement risk associated with relevant projects and nothing else.
The Centre for Environment and Integrity Pty Ltd does not have an Australian financial services licence and, in operating the Explorer, is not providing financial advice about ACCUs or any other financial product.
