Natural Carbon

Australian carbon farming project developer, Natural Carbon, is celebrating the issuance of its millionth ACCU since it began assisting landholders with carbon reduction projects in 2014.

The milestone was reached at the end of the 2019 financial year following the issuance of savanna credits relating to the 2018 fire season. It’s a figure that will continue to grow by around 300,000 ACCUs annually, as Natural Carbon continues working with communities and landholders to reduce emissions and deliver returns to land owners.

“Natural Carbon is proud to unlock sustainable agriculture and reduce emissions through sustainable land management, with benefits for Indigenous prosperity, food security and resilient communities,” said Julien Gastaldi, general manager at Natural Carbon.

Gastaldi added that the company looks forward to contributing to the Queensland Government’s Land Restoration Fund, and will continue working with project owners to generate ACCUs following the Australian Government’s announcement of an additional $2 billion for carbon abatement under the Climate Solutions Fund earlier this year.

Natural Carbon currently assists 18 carbon projects in the Northern Territory and Queensland; 12 are currently generating ACCUs, and a further six are under development. Together, these projects cover one million heads of cattle and 20 million hectares of land in an area roughly the size of Victoria.

The Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, together with government and industry partners, is putting together the first national Savanna Fire and Carbon forum, focused on supporting operational best-practice and the cohesive development of the Savanna fire and carbon industry. This forum aims to focus on the sharing of experiences from across northern Australia and identifying critical issues for the future of the industry.

Natural Carbon has been managing successful savanna burning projects since 2014, and will attend the event with three traditional owners from Batavia & Kalpowar, involved in Natural Carbon projects on Cape York Peninsula. Both of these projects are on returned Aboriginal land as part of the recent Cape York Peninsula tenure resolution process. Ongoing carbon revenue from the cool burning of savanna in the dry season is enabling traditional owners to get back on country and participate in an emerging economy. The three owners will share learnings with other fire practitioners from northern Australia so that their projects can continue to provide economic benefits independent of government grants.

The topics to be covered in the two day Darwin Forum on 27-28 Feb 2018 include:

• Best Practice in Fire Management
• Emissions Reduction Fund methods and the forward pathway
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Tools and Training
• Industry Development

Natural Carbon attends the event as a leading provider of carbon farming and savannah burning projects in Australia and will present insights during the discussion of “Best Practice in Fire Management”. For more information about the event, visit the Centre for Bushfire Research.

Natural Carbon has facilitated the delivery of more than 20,000/yr Australian Carbon Credits (ACCUs) to a progressive Australian beef company, creating added revenue and reducing their emissions intensity. The achievement reflects a growing momentum towards stronger climate action as Meat and Livestock Australia announce today that the Australian red meat industry will be carbon neutral by 2030.

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Wednesday 22 nd November, Sydney, Australia

Wednesday 22nd November, Sydney, Australia – In a world first it is now possible to earn an income from carbon through cattle herd management by engaging in with leading Australian carbon farming solutions provider Natural Carbon. By facilitating the delivery of over 20,000/yr Australian Carbon Credits (ACCUs) Natural Carbon has helped creating new revenue for farmers and reduce emissions intensity.

This achievement will be the first of many as the industry’s momentum grows towards stronger climate action, and comes back to back with today’s announcement by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) that the Australian red meat industry will work with federal and state governments to be carbon neutral by 2030.

This industry-wide target for carbon neutrality is a timely development. Since 2014, Natural Carbon has established itself as a leading carbon organisation in Australia with a portfolio of 14 carbon projects that have collectively generated over 550,000 ACCUs. Natural Carbon is on track to engage 10% of Australia’s cattle herd industry in 30 beef cattle herd management carbon abatement projects by 2025. The implementation of the Emissions Reduction Fund Beef Methodology ( ERF Beef Method ) will likely result in a reduction of emissions intensity by more than 20%, and remove more than 5 million tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Good data will also be key to timely reporting and payments. To make it easier for all to participate, Natural Carbon is working with its livestock and grazing technology partner Maia Technology to ensure the ERF Beef Method is integrated into their existing world class grazing management application ‘MaiaGrazing’.

“Carbon neutrality is the only logical goal in the long term – but it is a long and hard way to get there for any industry,” says Julien Gastaldi, General Manager of Natural Carbon. “The Emissions Reduction Fund lets us work with farmers’ strengths and their ability to adapt their pastoral enterprise to what is, at times, a harsh and unforgiving country for livestock production. With the MLA announcement, we are thrilled to see that the ambition to punch above our carbon-weight is still alive and well. Natural Carbon looks forward to working with MLA on demonstrating the links between productivity gains and income from the growing carbon markets .”

All pastoral companies can earn ACCUs and supplementary income by applying the ERF Beef Method. To register a project with the Clean Energy Regulator contact

julien.gastaldi@naturalcarbon.com.au .

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Note to editors

The Clean Energy Regulator is the Government body responsible for administering legislation that will reduce carbon emissions and increase the use of clean energy. An ACCU is a unit issued to a person by the Clean Energy Regulator by making an entry for the unit in an account kept by the person in the electronic Australian National Registry of Emissions Units. Each ACCU issued represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) stored or avoided by a project.

About Natural Carbon

Natural Carbon Pty is a joint venture established in 2014 with a focus on developing carbon projects in northern Australia. (Phillip Toyne, indigenous advocate, co-founder of the national Landcare program and founding Director of EcoFutures, was instrumental in the formation of Natural Carbon.) Since 2014, Natural Carbon has established itself as a leading organisation supporting Pastoral and Aboriginal carbon farming through Savanna Burning, Beef Cattle herd Management and Revegetation projects. Natural Carbon brings together global experience and expertise across the full carbon project cycle – from concept to sales, providing a one stop shop for entities seeking to generate revenue from carbon. The company works with indigenous groups, farmers, and other land managers to achieve long-term economic and environmental benefits to their communities.

For additional information, please contact:

Business Enquiries

Julien Gastaldi

General Manager

julien.gastaldi@naturalcarbon.com.au

Media Enquiries

Lily Keenan

Junior Communications Specialist, South Pole Group

l.keenan@southpole.com

Sydney, Australia, 1 May, 2017 – Natural Carbon is proud to announce the key addition of Julien Gastaldi as its newly appointed General Manager.

Natural Carbon started in 2014 as the nexus of five unique partners with a focus on developing carbon farming projects in Australia. Climate Friendly, South Pole Group, McCullough Robertson, EcoFutures and Object Consulting combined their global experience and expertise across multiple sectors to provide comprehensive climate solution services to rural and indigenous Australian communities. Since then, Natural Carbon has built an impressive portfolio, managing over 1% of Australian landmass across 15 projects that will generate three million carbon abatement credits over the next 10 years. The evolution of Natural Carbon is a true growth story, affirmed by a commitment to develop another 5MT worth of projects in the next 18 months. This will be achieved thanks to the new sequestration opportunities, and facilitating participation via their Northern Savanna aggregation project. Natural Carbon is at the forefront of the transition towards “Net Zero Carbon by 2050”. The profit-for-purpose company helps landowners, pastoralists, and indigenous groups deliver projects locally on their land, that together add up to meaningful change – at scale.

“Natural Carbon was established to meet the growing demand we saw for sustainable carbon revenue opportunities in the Australian agriculture and land management sectors,” says Peter Richardson, Director of Natural Carbon and Manager of New Ventures at Object Consulting. “As a pioneering company in this area, we have ridden a wave of unprecedented growth by tailoring comprehensive projects that provide carbon solutions, with a particular focus on delivering new revenue streams for indigenous communities.”

As Natural Carbon’s portfolio expands, it could not be a more timely moment to add a seasoned expert to the Sydney-based team. With 10 years of experience in business management and environmental consultancy, including indigenous community development in the South Pacific, Julien Gastaldi is key addition to guide Natural Carbon through this period of great transition and growth. As General Manager, Julien will provide valuable expertise for the continued development of economically and environmentally beneficial climate adaptation solutions in farming communities. Julien is one of Australia’s leading experts in carbon emissions and waste management. Prior to joining Natural Carbon, he worked as an executive for MRA Consulting Group, responsible for a broad range of environmental projects and the growth of the company Australia-wide. He is also the current Chair of the NSW Carbon Committee of the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) and Deputy Chair of the WMAA National Carbon Committee. Julien brings to the role extensive industry insight, technical expertise, and a passion for community development and climate change adaptation.

“Julien’s hire is a milestone for Natural Carbon, reflecting the significant growth the company has experienced in recent years” says Josh Harris, General Manager for Climate Friendly. “With such a strong background in environmental and community development, we expect that his leadership will further cement Natural Carbon as a leading provider of co-beneficial carbon solutions in Australia.”

“Joining Natural Carbon a logical step forwards for me, and an ideal opportunity to bring together my experience with indigenous communities and knowledge of how to drive climate change mitigation and adaptation across an industry,” says Julien Gastaldi, General Manager, Natural Carbon. “I look forward to guiding the company towards an even more impactful purpose.”

Natural Carbon has emerged as a leading carbon farming project provider to rural and indigenous communities in Australia. The inclusion of Julien is in line with the company’s mission to provide a full suite of solutions across the carbon project cycle to entities seeking to generate revenue in a sustainable way.

Media Contacts:

Josh Harris, General Manager, Climate Friendly
josh.harris@climatefriendly.com

Julien Gastaldi, General Manager, Natural Carbon
julien.gastaldi@naturalcarbon.com.au