Estimating the financial risks of Andropogon gayanus to greenhouse gas abatement projects in northern Australia
TLDR
In this article, the authors focus on the threat of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) to savanna burning due to its documented impacts of increased fuel loads and altered fire regimes.Abstract:
Financial mechanisms such as offsets are one strategy to abate greenhouse gas emissions, and the carbon market is expanding with a growing demand for offset products. However, in the case of carbon offsets, if the carbon is released due to intentional or unintentional reversal through environmental events such as fire, the financial liability to replace lost offsets will likely fall on the provider. This liability may have implications for future participation in programmes, but common strategies such as buffer pool and insurance products can be used to minimize this liability. In order for these strategies to be effective, an understanding of the spatial and temporal distributions of expected reversals is needed. We use the case study of savanna burning, an approved greenhouse gas abatement methodology under the Carbon Farming Initiative in Australia, to examine potential risks to carbon markets in northern Australia and quantify the financial risks. We focus our analysis on the threat of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) to savanna burning due to its documented impacts of increased fuel loads and altered fire regimes. We assess the spatial and financial extent to which gamba grass poses a risk to savanna burning programmes in northern Australia. We find that 75% of the eligible area for savanna burning is spatially coincident with the high suitability range for gamba grass. Our analysis demonstrates that the presence of gamba grass seriously impacts the financial viability of savanna burning projects. For example, in order to recuperate the annual costs of controlling 1 ha of gamba grass infestation, 290 ha of land must be enrolled in annual carbon abatement credits. Our results show an immediate need to contain gamba grass to its current extent to avoid future spread into large expanses of land, which are currently profitable for savanna burning.read more
Citations
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Current and Future Disease Burden From Ambient Ozone Exposure in India
Luke Conibear,Luke Conibear,Edward W. Butt,Christoph Knote,Dominick V. Spracklen,Stephen R. Arnold +5 more
TL;DR: It is highlighted that critical public health benefits are possible with stringent emission reductions, despite population growth and aging increasing the attributable disease burden from O3 exposure even under such strong emission reductions.
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Using quantitative influence diagrams to map natural resource managers’ mental models of invasive species management
TL;DR: In a case study of cross-agency management of gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) in Australia, this paper explored the differences in organizational staffs' mental models of management.
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Mental models of food security in rural Mali
Louie Rivers,Udita Sanga,Amadou Sidibé,Alexa L. Wood,Rajiv Paudel,Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt,Arika Ligmann-Zielinska,Laura Schmitt Olabisi,Eric Jing Du,Saweda Liverpool-Tasie +9 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed two influence diagrams and a set of sub-models that represent rural households' mental models of food security under traditional conditions and under conditions of external pressures.
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Toward a more consistent combined approach of reduction targets and climate policy regulations: The illustrative case of a meat tax in Denmark
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Comparison of Tools for Quantifying the Environmental Performance of an Urban Territory
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State and trends of the carbon market 2008
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How helpful is nanotechnology in agriculture
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