The Clean Energy Regulator of Australia has recently held the first Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction, granting 107 Carbon Abatement Contracts to 144 projects. Climate Friendly, South Pole Group's Australian subsidiary, participated in the auction and won it, with contracts awarded to a grand total of 16 projects.
The Group's projects help to restore thousands of hectares of drylands forests and to protect existing forest from deforestation, as well as sustainably manage savannah lands which are aboriginal communal territory . They include, among others, the Olkola and Pormpuraaw projects that allow the indigenous communities in the Cape York region of Australia to manage their land in a way that avoids devastating bushfires that destroy habitat and emit high levels of greenhouse gases (CO2e).
In total, South Pole Group's projects will help indigenous communities access carbon finance and reduce 3.4 million tonnes of CO2e over the 7-year contract period, making up 7% of the total abatement contracted through the first auction.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is a central element of the Australian Government's Direct Action Plan. The objective of the Emissions Reduction Fund is to help Australia to meet its emissions reduction target of five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020. The Carbon Abatement Contracts awarded in the recent auction have together committed to deliver nearly 50 million tonnes of reductions. The total value of contracts awarded was $660 471 500.
The information on the Carbon Abatement Contracts awarded can be found in the Carbon Abatement Contract table.