Prospects of Carbon Farming in Australian Broadacre Agriculture: Transition Towards Net Zero

ABSTRACT Australia has legislated to achieve net‐zero emissions by 2050, and its agriculture is a significant part of the implementation plan. This study examines the current status of carbon farming by reviewing relevant literature and the projects registered under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme of the Australian Government. It provides a thematic analysis of the literature based on 40 peer‐reviewed articles under six themes—carbon farming and agriculture, carbon farming practices, carbon farming policies, farmer perceptions, the economics of carbon and carbon accounting. It identifies that there is progress in the participation of ACCU scheme and uptake of carbon farming practices at the farm level. However, the carbon price, farmers’ adoption, limited access to suitable carbon accounting tools, incentive to adopt carbon farming, cumbersome processes, etc, are the key challenges. Examination of ACCU projects reveals that there are 2141 projects registered to generate 143 million ACCUs since 2012. There are 607 ACCU projects with agriculture methods that have generated 2.3 million ACCUs. The annual GHG emissions from the Australian economy and agriculture sector are 433 and 77 Mt, respectively, and there is a shortfall of 416 million ACCUs and 77 million ACCUs annually, economy‐wide and in agriculture, respectively. Based on these trends, we developed four scenarios that demonstrate the potential for achieving net zero by 2074 (business as usual), 2042, 2050 and 2048, respectively in the agriculture sector. Net zero can be achieved as early as 2042 with the right approach and incentives. We conclude that broadacre agriculture can play an important role in mitigating climate change by adopting sustainable practices such as carbon farming in Australia.