It has been another dynamic year for Australia’s carbon market, known as the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
This year we saw some big payouts to livestock producers for carbon projects. At the same time, demand for carbon credits has remained steady, largely driven by big emitters who are facing a March 2025 deadline to meet regulated emissions thresholds under Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism. These emitters produce about 30% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Looking globally, corporates, investors and funds are seeking high integrity credits to meet the increasing number of decarbonisation commitments. The Net Zero Tracker reported an increase of 23% in net zero target setting across global companies in the last year.
Figure 1: Net Zero Tracker’s Net Zero Coverage over time (by number). Number of net zero pledges per entity group covered by the Net Zero Tracker database and growth since December 2020. Data for December 2020 and June 2023 are taken from Black et al. (2021) and Net Zero Tracker (2023b) Source: Net Zero Stocktake 2024
These voluntary commitments, often driven by shareholder and customer expectations, are likely to remain stable despite changes in policy. In some cases, companies are forward-contracting (or “off-taking”) carbon credits to meet their future requirements.
The price for Australian carbon credits generated through the ACCU Scheme – with its government oversight, stability and reputation for scientific rigor – remains strong. Generally, Australia’s ACCUs are outperforming credits generated through voluntary schemes, such as those used in the US.
For participants in the Australian carbon market, this is good news.
Figure 2: Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) volume weighted average spot price. Source: Clean Energy Regulator – June 2024 Quarter report.
Across agriculture, carbon has been high on the agenda in 2025, from major industry events such as Beef Australia and LambEx to local field days. Yet no further clarity has been provided to producers about expectations within the supply chain for demonstrating climate-related credentials, nor the support available to do so.
A survey of more than 700 primary producers by Farmers for Climate Action identified three barriers to pursing net zero emissions:
An absence of government policies or incentives.
High upfront costs and limited access to capital.
Challenges to measuring and validating changes.
Whilst not a viable option for all producers (and due diligence is essential), for those who can access it the carbon market can address these barriers, with support provided through third-party project partners and remuneration to producers in the form of high integrity carbon credits.
Producers earning credits have a choice about how those credits are used, whether they are held for future, surrendered against the enterprise’s own footprint, or sold. In many cases, the income from credit sales is being directed back into the business to enhance productivity and environmental outcomes.
So, what does this mean heading into 2025?
The need to reduce our industry carbon footprint (and to demonstrate how we are doing so) will be just as pertinent 2025. The Climate Change Authority’s Annual Progress Report revealed the critical role of the agriculture and land sector in driving down national emissions between FY23 and FY24, largely thanks to carbon projects.
In the absence of other methods, the carbon market provides an opportunity to address this need, while rewarding producers for their on-farm activities in the form of high-integrity carbon credits. What producers do with those credits is up to them. What’s important is that producers can be confident that the Australian carbon market is robust and that buyers will continue to seek a reliable supply of credits into the future.
Ashley Silver is the Founder and CEO of Atlas Carbon.
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