Carbon Conscious Carbon Capture Project 2

Carbon Conscious Carbon Capture Project 2 is a large-scale reforestation project located across the Northern and Central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The project aggregates multiple properties spanning a broad geographic area, with sites situated near towns such as Dalwallinu, Mingenew, and Northampton. Registered in June 2014, the project originally listed a project area of approximately 12,939 hectares. It operates on land previously cleared for agricultural use, specifically dryland cropping and grazing, which are the dominant industries in the region.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings, FullCAM methodology. This involves establishing permanent plantings of native mallee eucalypt species (such as Eucalyptus loxophleba and Eucalyptus polybractea) to sequester carbon. The methodology requires that the trees are planted at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover and must remain permanent for a defined period (usually 25 or 100 years). The project has undergone significant methodological evolution, transitioning from the original "Reforestation Modelling Tool" (RMT) to "Reforestation and Afforestation 2.0" in 2016, and finally to the FullCAM method in 2021. The use of FullCAM allows the project to model carbon sequestration based on climatic and soil data rather than relying solely on direct field measurements.

Environmentally, the project area is characterized by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Rainfall in these regions typically ranges between 300mm and 500mm annually. The soils are ancient and deeply weathered, often featuring sandy loams over clay subsoils. This region is historically prone to dryland salinity, and the planting of deep-rooted mallee trees is a recognized strategy for managing water tables and mitigating soil salinity while generating carbon credits.

A notable aspect of this project is its corporate history and commercial structure. Originally developed by Carbon Conscious Limited (which later rebranded to Alterra Limited), the project's management rights were transferred to a demerged entity, Carbon Conscious Investments Ltd (CCIL), via its subsidiary ACCU Asset Management Pty Ltd. The project is underpinned by long-term "Carbon Plantation Agreements" with major corporate clients, specifically Origin Energy and BP, who hold the rights to the generated credits until 2027 and 2025 respectively. Corporate reports from 2021 indicate that the project faced "Significant Growth Interruption Events" (likely drought or fire stress), which resulted in a reduction of the eligible carbon abatement area to approximately 9,861 hectares at that time.