Marginal Abatement Cost Curve Case Studies for the Meat and Livestock Industries

This is a joint project between the Australian Centre for Sustainable Business and Development and the Australian Farm Institute.

About the project

The Carbon Farming Initiative has been developed to provide an opportunity for Australian farmers to undertake greenhouse gas abatement projects on farm, and to generate revenue from the sale of carbon credits generated by such projects. While a substantial research effort is underway to better understand the technologies and management systems that may be available for farm businesses to abate greenhouse gas, only very limited research has been carried out of the financial implications of the adoption of these options.

Using a paired case study approach, this project proposes to develop marginal abatement cost curves (MACC) for specific farm enterprises so that comparisons can be made between similar farms within a geographic region, and between different production regions.

Once developed, marginal abatement cost curves will be able to be used by farm business managers, industry organisations and policy-makers to better understand the abatement options that may be feasible for farm businesses, and the potential abatement that may be able to be generated by the CFI.

Project objectives:

To develop six paired case studies with marginal abatement cost curves (MACC) to provide a greater understanding of potential greenhouse gas abatement options available to farm businesses, through analysis of the economics of a range of such options for Australian broadacre beef and prime lamb enterprises

Project outcome:

This project will provide producers with a comparison of costs and abatement potential within a region and between production zones. The project will also contribute knowledge to understanding the feasibility of developing individual business specific MACCs for potential abatement options via an online application.

Funding:

Meat and Livestock Australia

Project team:

Mr Mick Keogh, Australian Farm Institute
Ms Renelle Jeffrey, Australian Farm Institute
Prof Julie Cotter, Australian Centre for Sustainable Business and Development, USQ