Building on the existing Emissions Reduction Fund plantation forestry method, the method will offer more opportunities for the plantation forestry industry to deliver low-cost abatement.
Method development plan
| Development stage | Status | Milestones for the 2021 calendar year
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| Planning and scoping | Complete | - Ministerial method priority announced quarter 4 2020.
- Initial method scoping and planning completed in quarter 1 2021.
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| Develop draft method | Complete | - Initial co-design workshops held quarter 1 2021.
- Co-design process continued during quarter 2 and 3 2021.
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| Technical and expert consultation | In progress | - Technical review scheduled quarters 2, 3 and 4 2021.
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| ERAC consideration | Complete | - ERAC consideration scheduled quarter 3 2021.
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| Public consultation | In progress | - The Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee has released the draft 2021 plantation forestry method, simple method guide and other supporting documents for public consultation for a period of 28 days. These documents are available on the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources’ consultation hub. Submissions will be accepted until Monday 22 November 2021 (11:59 pm AEDT).
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| Refinement and draft finalisation | Pending | - Refinement and draft finalisation during quarter 4 2021.
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| ERAC approval | Pending | - ERAC review scheduled quarter 4 2021.
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| Minister approval | Pending | - Method finalisation by quarter 4 2021.
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Issues Register
| Issue | Response |
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| Revisions to the existing activities from the 2017 plantation forestry method to ensure useability and uptake, including updating the eligible species lists, extending eligibility to plantations beyond the NPI regions and inserting an in lieu of newness provision to allow planting and other activities once a registration application has been submitted. | The Clean Energy Regulator (the agency) has developed revisions to support uptake that meet the offsets integrity standards. |
| Developing an eligibility framework to identify plantations at risk of conversion to non-forest land use to ensure additionality of avoided harvest activities. | The agency has developed a proposed framework to assess plantations at risk of conversion to non-forest land use, which meets the offsets integrity standards. |
Managing risks associated with the establishment of permanent forests.
| The agency has developed requirements to manage risks associated with the establishment of permanent forests, including new requirements for a forest management plan.
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