Prime Minister, John Howard, set up a joint government-business taskforce last December to consider the potential for a national carbon trading scheme.
The task force handed down their report on Friday and the Federal Government appears to have accepted its recommendations, which means the Coalition is now promoting an approach to climate change that is very similar to Labor party policy.
Under the scheme the Federal Government would determine a target or limit to how much carbon industries should emit and issue tradable permits up to that limit.
The Labor Party has suggested a 60 percent reduction in emissions by 2050. The taskforce was reluctant to commit to a definitive target -- but the Coalition will have to sooner or later.
The assumption has been that agriculture will do well out of a national carbon trading scheme, being a potential source of carbon sequestration through, for example, tree planting.
Indeed one of the most amazing stories to emerge as a consequence of all the concern over climate change was the recent announcement by mining giant Rio Tinto that they have paid $1 million to a Queensland grazier to not clear 12,000 hectares of scrub.
The land was eligible for clearing under the state government ballot.
The Australian Greenhouse Office calculated clearing the scrub would generate 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Now the landholder has a 120 year agreement giving the carbon credits to Rio Tinto, while retaining the right to graze the land.
But don't assume your bit of scrub is now worth anything in terms of carbon credits, unless you have a permit to bulldoze and a willing buyer.
The situation may or may not be different once a carbon trading scheme is in place -- which won't be for a few years yet.
There is a risk many farmers will get caught having to count their emissions including methane from cow flatulence and methane and nitrous oxide from fertiliser use.
What the proposed carbon trading scheme means for Australian agriculture will depend on how the detail is drafted.
Unfortunately there was no agricultural representative on the government-business taskforce set up last December. But let's hope agricultural representatives are included when the detail of the scheme is eventually developed.
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