Messner Carbon Project 2 (Revoked)

Messner Carbon Project 2 (Revoked) was a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The project area covered approximately 1,048 hectares and was situated roughly 60 kilometers east of the town of Mukinbudin and north of Westonia. Registered in June 2022 by Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd, the project was part of a broader aggregation of soil carbon initiatives in the Westonia and Mukinbudin Shires, but was revoked less than a year later in April 2023.

The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models) Methodology Determination 2021. This high-integrity method credits landholders for measurable increases in soil carbon stocks resulting from new management activities. Specifically, this project aimed to sequester carbon by applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address material nutrient deficiencies in the soil, a practice designed to boost plant growth and subsequently return more organic matter to the earth.

The surrounding region is characterized by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool winters that bring the majority of the area's 300mm average annual rainfall. The landscape is dominated by dryland agriculture, primarily broadacre cropping of wheat and canola alongside sheep grazing. The soils in this part of the Wheatbelt typically consist of sandplains and sandy loams, which can be susceptible to acidity and require careful nutrient management to maintain productivity.

Notably, the project was revoked under section 30 of the CFI Rule, which typically indicates a voluntary notification by the proponent to cease the project. This is a common occurrence in the soil carbon sector, where projects may be withdrawn to be re-baselined, aggregated differently, or if the initial stratification of the land proved unsuitable for the intended modeling approach. Agriprove, the proponent, is Australia’s largest soil carbon developer and manages numerous similar projects across the country.