La Caisse and the CEFC create scaled ag and carbon platform, Meldora
Combining sustainable agriculture and environmental plantings to generate ACCUs
The CEFC and global investment group La Caisse have launched a $250 million large-scale diversified agriculture platform to generate high-quality Australian Carbon Credit Units, with Rio Tinto as a foundation offtaker.
$250 million
platform
Sustainable
agriculture
Quality
ACCUs
This investment is a timely step toward advancing resilient, climate-smart agriculture in Australia, while delivering measurable environmental and economic value.Emmanuel JaclotExecutive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability, La Caisse
Our investment
The CEFC has committed $50 million to establish the Meldora platform alongside a $200 million investment by global investment group La Caisse.
Managed by Gunn Agri Partners (GAP), the Meldora platform combines sustainable agricultural production with large-scale environmental plantings under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme, underpinned by a long-term offtake agreement with Rio Tinto for part of the ACCUs to be issued.
An integrated sustainable land management model enables the production of high-quality agricultural commodities, while increasing biodiversity, improving ecosystems, and earning carbon revenues through the investment in native landscape restoration.
The seed asset for the Meldora Platform is a broadacre and irrigation farm of more than 15,000 hectares in Central Queensland.
The CEFC has worked with La Caisse and GAP previously, with a $150 million commitment to the Wilga Farming Platform.
The CEFC has also invested in GAP and the Transforming Farming Platform which GAP manages.
This initiative represents a long-term investment in nature and land-based strategies in Australian agriculture. It’s a great privilege to again be able to work with La Caisse and GAP to invest in this strategy and alongside Rio Tinto, who have demonstrated with their long-term offtake, a commitment to invest in high-integrity carbon credits.Heechung SungHead of Natural Capital, CEFC
OUR IMPACT
Sustainable agricultural practices across Australian farmland pave the way for a more resilient future with better environmental outcomes for the sector.
The CEFC investment alongside La Caisse in the Meldora platform promotes the integration of sustainable Australian agricultural production with restoration of local species vegetation that generates carbon credits, harnessing carbon sequestration and supporting the efforts of the sector to remain competitive in the global net zero economy.
By using a high-integrity method – Environmental Plantings - that also supports biodiversity, the ACCUs generated through the platform have the potential to command a premium in the market.
Under the Environmental Plantings methodology for ACCUs, native vegetation is planted and maintained for a minimum of 25 years for some projects and as long as a century for others, providing long-term carbon sequestration and biodiversity benefits.
This reinforces the role of nature-based solutions in climate action and underscores the increasing value of sustainable land management and investment in the restoration of trees and vegetation, as Australia transitions to a low carbon economy.
The scale of this investment and the scope of the Meldora platform means that it is uniquely ambitious in integrating the restoration of native vegetation in the landscape of an institutional-quality agricultural investment. Through diversification across irrigation, dryland cropping and carbon credit generation, the investment model redefines the future of farming.Bradley WheatonJoint Managing Director, Gunn Agri
