Natural capital
The world faces a demanding climate change challenge: how to produce more food, fibre and timber, more efficiently, for a growing population amid a more extreme climate, while also reducing greenhouse gas intensity and emissions.
As a major agricultural economy, Australia has an opportunity to be at the forefront of innovative technology solutions that can address these challenges.
The CEFC invests to maximise the productive, sustainable use of Australia’s natural capital assets. This includes reducing on-farm emissions, unlocking the sequestration potential of land and agriculture, and also bringing in new sources of capital across diverse agricultural and land use activities.
Diverse investment approach
CEFC investment commitments reflect both the complexity and particular urgency of improving the sustainability and competitiveness of Australian agriculture, in conjunction with measures to regenerate and improve land, water and biodiversity.
Our investments in natural capital range from large-scale investments in specialised funds, notably across the cropping and livestock sectors, to providing discounted finance for on-farm emissions reduction activities and renewable energy improvements. Increasingly, the CEFC is focusing on carbon offset, carbon sequestration and soil carbon opportunities in the agriculture sector.
As Australian corporates pursue their abatement targets, credible offsets from eligible land use activities will be required to address unavoidable emissions, providing important new opportunities for sustainably-focused agricultural activities. The CEFC role in convening capital and establishing and promoting best practice is critical to this fragmented sector.
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Towards Net Zero Agriculture Pathfinder
The Towards Net Zero Agriculture Pathfinder, a joint initiative by the CEFC and the CSIRO, is a science-backed online resource to help Australian farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining productivity and competitiveness.
For more information on the Pathfinder, watch the CEFC Green Room webinar with CSIRO and NAB.
Visit the Pathfinder
Watch
Sustainable agriculture with Wilga Farming
The CEFC and global investment group La Caisse have created a new sustainable agricultural platform Wilga Farming, managed by Gunn Agri Partners. This video highlights how Wilga Farming is seeking to drive down emissions and improve sustainability across the agricultural sector.
The future of sustainable farming
Gunn Agri Partners Managing Directors Bradley Wheaton and Sean O'Reilly share their approach to sustainable farming in our Green Files article.
Read the article
Helping farmers capture Environmental Plantings benefits
Produced by Rabobank Australia, with the support of the CEFC, the Environmental Plantings Explainer Guide shows how planting and maintaining mixed native vegetation can help cut emissions.
Read the guide
Measuring what matters: An approach for natural capital investors
This practical guide to assessing agriculture and forestry investments draws from CEFC experience to demonstrate how institutional investors in natural capital can enhance assessment of decarbonisation activities.
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