Media Release - 10 December 2002

Rural sector to save $110M a year through new CRC research program

Potential savings of $110M a year could flow to the farming sector as a result of today’s Federal Government decision to endorse an expansion of the research program of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Greenhouse Accounting.

Dr Chris Mitchell, the CEO of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting, Australia’s leading research body specialising in land-based greenhouse gas emissions and methods of minimising their impact, welcomed the opportunity for broader research by the CRC.

“When we were established in 1999 our charter was limited to studying carbon dioxide (CO2), which is commonly regarded as the “main” greenhouse gas but it became evident that we also needed to study gasses such as nitrous oxide and methane.

“These form a much smaller proportion of greenhouse emissions than CO2 but each is much more potent. Recent figures show methane is 23 times and nitrous oxide is 296 times more potent than CO2”, Dr Mitchell said.

All of those gases are emitted by rural land use and farming activities. Rural landscapes also store significant amounts of carbon in soils and vegetation – thereby reducing the amount of CO2 in the air. We need to account for all these gases and carbon storage.

The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting lodged a proposal earlier this year seeking funding for an expansion of the range of its research to include methane and nitrous oxide.

“Our preliminary work has already shown a potential for rural sector savings of $110 million a year as well as significant reductions in rural sector emissions if our research outcomes are applied”, Dr Mitchell said.

“The new program will see the University of Melbourne, CSIRO Atmospheric Research and the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment Rural sector actively involved in the work of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting.

“The new program is designed to run for three years at a total input of only $1.3M annually in cash and in-kind contributions from the Government and our new partners. We believe this is a very worthwhile investment in Australia’s future’, Dr Mitchell said.

INFORMATION:

Dr Chris Mitchell, CEO, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting (Mobile: 0419 992 914)

Dennis Ringrose, Communication Manager, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting (02 6125 5593)