Rangeland ecosystems are superficially attractive locations for low-cost carbon sequestration, but the variability in these systems creates integrity problems for carbon offsets. We use remotely sensed imagery to analyse 116 Australian Human-induced Regeneration Projects, and find most projects are non-compliant with regulatory requirements and that they have had minimal impact on tree cover. The findings point to major failings in Australia’s carbon offset scheme and extend the literature showing offset schemes are frequently plagued by integrity issues.
This article belongs to the Collection Carbon and Environmental Service Markets.
RJ24024 Abstract | RJ24024 Full Text | RJ24024PDF (2.6 MB) | RJ24024Supplementary Material (2.5 MB) Open Access Article