Carbon farming policy and economics

Carbon farming broadly refers to activities, usually undertaken in agricultural landscapes, that sequester or avoid the release of greenhouse gas emissions in vegetation and soils. In Australia, landholders have been offered incentives to establish such land-based carbon offset since 2012.

My work has examined the potential for the carbon market to deliver “win wins” for biodiversity and the climate, by examining the economic viability of assisting the regeneration of native vegetation in marginal landscapes in Queensland.

Regenerated brigalow woodlands after 50 years. John Dwyer

Evans MC. 2018. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

I’ve also published work on how to establish an appropriate policy mix that genuinely encourages and supports landholders to restore vegetation, while discouraging further deforestation, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.

Given that a robust policy framework for mitigating and adapting to climate change remains elusive, there’s still a lot of work to be done in this space – especially when other sources of investment (i.e private sector) comes into the mix.

Blogs and other articles

Evans MC. 2016. Australia needs better policy to end the alarming increase in land clearing. The Conversation
Evans MC. 2016 Queensland moves to control land clearing: other states need to follow. The Conversation
Evans MC, Renwick A, Carwardine J, Martin T. 2015. Farming carbon can be a win for wildlife, if the price is right. The Conversation
Up in smoke: what did taxpayers get for the $2bn emissions fund? The Guardian

Selected papers

Please email me for a copy of any PDFs

Evans M.C. 2018. Effective incentives for reforestation: lessons from Australia’s carbon farming policies. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 32: 38–45.
Evans M.C. 2016. Deforestation in Australia: drivers, trends and policy responses. Pacific Conservation Biology
Evans, M.C., Carwardine, J., Fensham, R.J., Butler, D., Wilson, K.A., Possingham, H.P., Martin, T.G., 2015. Carbon farming in agricultural landscapes: assisted natural regeneration as a viable mechanism for restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services. Environmental Science & Policy 50: 114-129.