The Australian Government has released four additional draft Emissions Reduction Fund methods for public consultation – for household energy efficiency, industrial energy efficiency, soil carbon and improving the efficiency of fertiliser use in irrigated cotton.
The draft household energy efficiency method covers projects that improve energy efficiency for households and small businesses. Project proponents, such as energy retailers, could offer energy saving goods and services to a large group of customers.
Activities could include installing new energy saving technologies, such as LED lighting, or providing information to households and small businesses to encourage changes in behaviour that save energy.
The draft industrial fuel and energy efficiency method has been designed to cover a broad range of activities that reduce direct fuel combustion emissions and emissions from electricity use.
These include upgrades to lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling systems, boilers and compressed air systems and installation of variable speed drives.
The soil carbon method uses modelled estimates of the amount of carbon stored in the soil. It builds on the measurement based soil organic carbon method for grazing systems released for use under the Carbon Farming Initiative in mid 2014.
The irrigated cotton method provides for emissions reductions made by improving the efficiency of synthetic fertiliser use.
The draft method gives potential project owners the flexibility to choose a broad range of management actions that will achieve these emissions reductions.
The draft methods have been developed in consultation with technical working groups and industry.
Businesses, community organisations and individuals are invited to make submissions on the draft methods by 5pm AEDT 12th December 2014.
Further details about the draft methods and how to make a submission are available at www.environment.gov.au/emissions-reduction-fund.
(ENDS)