Sequestration of Carbon from Soil Carbon QLD1

Sequestration of Carbon from Soil Carbon QLD1 is a soil carbon project located approximately 55km south-east of Townsville in Queensland, spanning the Burdekin and Townsville local government areas. It was registered in June 2025 and originally covered 1,838.63 hectares, although a variation on 30 March 2026 formally removed certain areas from the project boundary.

Soil carbon projects operating under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology involve altering agricultural management practices to build and store carbon in the soil. Standard scheme requirements involve establishing a baseline soil carbon level through rigorous soil sampling, and subsequently using ongoing measurements and models to verify carbon increases over a nominated permanence period, which for this project is 25 years.

The region south-east of Townsville is traditionally utilized for cattle grazing and agriculture. The local environment features a dry tropical climate with highly seasonal rainfall, marked by wet summers and dry winters. The landscape naturally supports open woodland and is characterised by soils such as cracking clays (Vertosols) and red or yellow earths, which in this specific area can frequently suffer from sodicity or magnesium imbalances.

This project increases carbon in the agricultural soil system through several specific management activities: applying gypsum to remediate sodic or magnesic soils, applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address material nutrient deficiencies, and undertaking new irrigation. An interesting aspect of this project is its corporate proponent, Rio Tinto Energy Services Pty Ltd. This initiative forms part of the mining corporation's broader strategic shift toward investing in nature-based solutions and generating high-quality Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to offset its operational emissions. Beyond establishing its own direct land-based carbon assets, Rio Tinto has also been highly active across Queensland, establishing major carbon farming partnerships and entering into extensive ACCU offtake arrangements with local councils.