Carbon Storage Partnership

The Carbon Storage Partnership (CSP) is an initiative of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) that aims to build the capability and capacity of Australia's livestock sector to become carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30).

The multi-million-dollar Partnership is led by Associate Professor Matthew Harrison at Tasmanian Instituted of Agriculture (TIA), and brings together a range of research, industry and government partners to develop the skills, technologies and practices needed to achieve the CN30 goal.

Supporting producers learn about carbon neutrality

A key focus of the Partnership is assisting and supporting producers to learn about the opportunities for carbon neutrality, and developing a pathway that is profitable, environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable.

In Australia, agriculture contributes approximately 13% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the third biggest sector followed by Stationary Energy and Transport (DISER 2020). About 68% of the agricultural sector's  emissions are methane produced by ruminant digestion of cows and other livestock, with a further 10% from manure management processes.

The CSP is working towards the following outcomes:

• A 10% improvement in livestock productivity in 5% of the herd and flock, and the equivalent of 15 Mt of CO2 stored within 10 M ha of Australian grazing land by 2025.
• Providing producers opportunities such as:
  • Understanding GHG emissions on-farm and opportunities for generating carbon credits to diversify income streams.
  • Adopting promising new technologies for increasing carbon storage at scale in a profitable way.
  • Contributing improved management practices and skills for improved environmental outcomes on farm.
  • Learning from other producers and get involved through workshops, field days and other interactive sessions.

Research projects funded under the CSP include:

• Sustainable Pathways to CN30 (Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture)
• Data platform for increasing soil carbon in Australian agricultural systems (Agrimix / Queensland University of Technology)
• Time controlled grazing for soil C sequestration and improved ecosystem services (Queensland University of Technology)
• Maximising co-benefits of trees on farm (University of Melbourne)
• Steak ‘n wood: demonstrating livestock productivity and environmental service benefits of trees on farm in northern systems (Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)
• Hyperspectral remote sensing of soil organic carbon (Perennial)