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Estimating the financial risks of Andropogon gayanus to greenhouse gas abatement projects in northern Australia

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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.

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Can intelligence explain the overrepresentation of liberals and leftists in American academia

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

A safe operating space for humanity

TL;DR: Identifying and quantifying planetary boundaries that must not be transgressed could help prevent human activities from causing unacceptable environmental change, argue Johan Rockstrom and colleagues.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Anthropocene: are humans now overwhelming the great forces of Nature?

TL;DR: This work uses atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration as a single, simple indicator to track the progression of the Anthropocene, the current epoch in which humans and the authors' societies have become a global geophysical force.
Posted Content

State and trends of the carbon market 2008

TL;DR: The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) market has been successful in its mission of reducing emissions through internal abatement at home, and of stimulating emission reductions abroad as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI

How helpful is nanotechnology in agriculture

TL;DR: A review of the potential applications of nanotechnology in the field of agriculture is presented in this article, which recommends many strategies for the advancement of scientific and technological knowledge currently being examined.
MonographDOI

The nature of Northern Australia : natural values, ecological processes and future prospects

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a synthesis of the natural values and ecology of north Australia together with recommendations for actions needed to maintain these values and provide evidence for the need to take these values into account.
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