CFI Methodologies for the Feedlot Sector – Scoping Study

Summary

​The Australian Government's Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) provides economic rewards for farmers and landholders who take steps to reduce emissions or store carbon in the land. Under the CFI, they can earn credits that can be sold to businesses wanting to offset their carbon emissions. The Government's planned Emissions Reduction Fund will use the CFI as a key source for purchasing abatement so as to reach Australia's emissions reduction target by 2020.

The CFI also provides a number of co-benefits, such as increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change, protecting the natural environment, and increasing farm productivity and food production. The Government's planned Emissions Reduction Fund (Fund) will use the CFI as a key source for purchasing abatement so as to reach Australia's emissions reduction target by 2020.

The feedlot sector of the beef industry is currently investigating methods to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs) in order to participate in the CFI. This report outlines the scientific basis for emissions mitigation. The aim of the paper is to inform the feedlot industry and the Department of Environment (formerly the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, or DCCEE) of the most suitable mitigation options available for developing CFI methodologies.