Australians can continue to have a high level of confidence in the Emission Reduction Fund (ERF), according to the Commonwealth's Clean Energy Regulator.
The Clean Energy Regulator Chair, David Parker, says the Emission Reduction Fund methods and projects are internationally valued for good reason. Integrity is legislated into the scheme, and it is administered by independent institutions.
"Our top priority is ensuring that our work is scientifically sound and rigorously administered to meet the highest standards of integrity. This goes well beyond work on method preparation and project registration," Mr Parker said.
"There are many checks and balances that are applied during and after project registration by the Clean Energy Regulator to ensure credits are issued for real abatement that is eligible under the methods."
"We use technology and data to make sure schemes and projects deliver the required outcomes and if improvements need to be made, we move quickly. This also includes audit and now sophisticated data tools to compare the performance of different projects."
"These administrative steps at the project level are generally not directly observed by others, but they are reported on in compliance updates and annual reports. The bottom line, for example, for regeneration projects is that credits don't flow if the trees don't grow. We welcome independent scrutiny of our work, because we are confident the ERF has high integrity."
"We are reviewing the papers released last Thursday by Professor Andrew McIntosh."
"It will take some time to analyse this research, but we plan to progressively respond as the work is completed. Further, we undertake to release relevant data with these responses where we can, following consultation with data providers."
As of 20 March 2022, there were 1167 registered emission reduction projects across Australia. These projects have reduced over 108 million tonnes of emissions.
There has been a record number of first quarter registrations with 84 new projects registered this year so far.
"The Australian public can have confidence in the Regulator's absolute commitment to ensuring integrity and effectiveness of our schemes," Mr Parker said.
"The Clean Energy Regulator unequivocally stands by its work which is delivering real world results, reducing emissions across Australia."
