Australia’s leading scientific research body, CSIRO, has cast doubt on a key aspect of the conservative Liberal-National government’s climate change plan.
The CSIRO says storing carbon in soil is only likely to result in a “low level” cut to greenhouse gas emissions.
The federal government’s multi-billion dollar Direct Action policy aims to cut carbon pollution by five per cent by the year 2020, with soil carbons forming a major part of its strategy.
“The single largest opportunity for CO2 emissions reduction in Australia is through bio-sequestration in general and, in particular, the replenishment of our soil carbons,” the policy document states.
“It is also the lowest cost CO2 emissions reduction available in Australia on a large scale.”
ABC News reports that in a submission to a upper house Senate inquiry into the Direct Action policy, the CSIRO said there were many options for achieving the five per cent target, but warns that soil carbons may not deliver much.
“Soil carbon in agricultural zones is likely to provide low levels of greenhouse gas abatement,” it stated.
“Saturation of carbon sinks (the maturation of forests and the restoration of soil carbon levels) means that per annum abatement from the land sector will decline in the decades after project establishment.”
The CSIRO also said there needed to be further work done on modelling the carbon levels in soil.
In response to questions about the CSIRO’s comments, a spokesman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt told the ABC News: “We remain extremely confident we’ll achieve our targets and achieve them easily.”
