Efforts to recruit farmers in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region to participate in carbon farming schemes are being met with skepticism. Carbon Sync, a company funded by Chevron, is attempting to sign up growers in the Irwin and Mingenew areas to adopt land management strategies that increase carbon storage in the soil. In exchange, landholders can sell Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to companies looking to offset their emissions. However, experts are warning that the practice poses a financial risk to farmers.
Carbon Sync requires landholders to pay $15,000 per year for the first four years, regardless of property size, and takes 35% of the ACCUs generated. The company’s managing director, Louise Edmonds, is confident in the practice, citing the slow process of building soil carbon and the potential for long-term gains. However, Andrew Macintosh, an environmental law and policy scholar at Australian National University, believes that farmers are taking a major risk, as science suggests that sequestrating additional carbon in the soil in this region is unlikely.
Macintosh argues that the seasonal variability in the region’s climate and soil types makes it difficult to accurately measure and verify carbon sequestration. He warns that farmers may not receive credits or may even have to pay credits back if no sequestration occurs. Edmonds acknowledges the concerns but believes that Carbon Sync’s approach is commercial and viable. The Clean Energy Regulator, which administers the carbon credit scheme, says that risks are managed through scientifically robust methods and comprehensive administrative controls.
Farmers in the region are also cautious, with grower representative body Mingenew Irwin Group CEO Dee McKeown stating that there is still much unknown about the practice and its potential restrictions on soil types and climate. McKeown emphasizes the need for more evidence and genuine options for growers to ensure food security and minimize risk. While some projects on the east coast have reportedly generated significant gains in soil carbon, Macintosh believes that 90% or more of projects are not working as intended due to fundamental flaws in the scheme’s administration. The debate highlights the complexities and uncertainties surrounding carbon farming in Western Australia’s agricultural heartland.