Market Support
The Land Restoration Fund (LRF) market support program is growing carbon and other environmental markets in Queensland by investing in research, development and capacity building projects. The LRF’s market support program is complementary, but separate, to its commercial (Land Restoration Fund Trust) investments. More information on the LRF’s commercial investments in carbon farming projects can be found on the LRF Register.
Organisations wishing to discuss opportunities to deliver projects funded through the LRF’s market support program should contact CarbonFarming@des.qld.gov.au
The Market Support program
Queensland’s large land mass, long coastlines and diverse ecology provide a natural advantage for carbon farming. The LRF funds market support activities that help Queensland landholders harness these advantages to participate in projects that deliver benefits over and above carbon sequestration and align with the strategic priorities of the LRF:
- Land restoration to improve the health of wetlands and coastal ecosystems, including the Great Barrier Reef
- Land restoration for threatened species and ecosystems
- Land restoration for social and economic sustainability.
Priority outcomes for investment
The LRF has two key priority outcomes for its Market Support program:
- Increase landholder participation in carbon and other environmental markets, and
- Support innovation in natural capital.
Organisations seeking investment through the LRF market support program must deliver projects that achieve at least one of these outcomes.
Priority Outcome 1 – Increase landholder participation in carbon and other environmental markets
Queensland landholders, including farmers and First Nations peoples, are supported to participate in environmental markets through:
- Landholder outreach – Engagement, education, tools and resources that support Queensland landholders to participate in environmental markets projects, such as carbon farming.
- First Nations capacity building – Projects that increase the capacity of Queensland First Nations peoples to determine and lead their involvement in environmental markets projects.
Priority Outcome 2: Support innovation in natural capital
The LRF invests to advance our knowledge of Queensland’s natural capital assets and support carbon and other environmental markets through:
- Research, Development and Innovation – Projects that drive innovation, and address barriers to participation in carbon + co-benefits and other environmental markets in Queensland.
- Method development – Projects that advance the design, development and piloting of high integrity terrestrial and aquatic carbon, co-benefit and nature repair methods and tools that can realise significant carbon abatement, co-benefit and biodiversity opportunities for Queensland, including through blue carbon.
Carbon method development
The LRF supports the development of new carbon methods under the Australian Government’s ACCU Scheme that allow more Queensland landholders to participate in the carbon market.
In late 2024, the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee approved the Queensland Government to lead development of an Improved Avoided Clearing of Native Regrowth (IACNR) carbon farming method. The method will focus on improving eligibility for landholders by taking a more practical approach to demonstrating risk of re-clearing.