ICIN at the 2023 Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit

ICIN members had an important presence at the 2023 Carbon Market Institute Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit (AER Summit), held on Gadigal Country (in Sydney) on the 14th and 15th September. Our experts showcased their Indigenous owned and led carbon projects to the mainstream carbon market, shared expertise regarding policy and practice and participated in discussions about national and international developments in carbon markets.

This included:

ICIN Co-Chair Cissy Gore-Birch (Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation) presented in the conference's opening session the 'Women in climate breakfast', as well as the closing session 'COP28, stocktake and 2035 NDC visions'
ICIN Director Suzanne Thomspon (YACHATDAC) presented in the session '10 years of the AER' (video below)
ICIN members Cassandra Stevens of Kullili-Bulloo Aboriginal Corporation and Daniel Oades of the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) presented in a panel about premium Indigenous carbon credits.
CEO Anna Boustead presented a masterclass about method development (presentation below).
ICIN hosted a booth in the exhibition hall, showcasing the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (members and associate members), the impact of the Indigenous carbon industry and the upcoming February 2024 North Australia Savanna Fire Forum.

ICIN was pleased to be supported to have a booth at the conference. ICIN CEO Anna Boustead with the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change & Energy in the ICIN booth.

Key quotes from each of the sessions:

ICIN members are leading the way, working in partnership with scientists and governments, to support development of new carbon methods that value Indigenous land and sea management and developing best practice guidelines for the industry, such as the Indigenous Carbon Projects Guide and the Guide to Seeking Free, prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Communities for a Carbon Project," Suzanne Thompson.

"There are so many dollars being spent on global trips, but First Nations people are crying out for funding. You say you want to work with First Nations people. Really? You want First Nations voices, but we have no funding and no staff. It’s tiring. Over the last 12 months we’ve been asking for funding, but there’s no funding. We're doing our best, we are contributing a lot, lowering emissions through our carbon projects, wanting to make a difference, but how do we get resources?" Cissy Gore-Birch.

"In the Kimberley regions, we’ve been able to work with ICIN on best practice, to make sure Indigenous people are in control of carbon projects, and have a strong role in negotiating contracts and sales. Proponents can’t claim Indigenous co-benefits if they have consent from Indigenous people to run the project on their Country but they themselves are not Indigenous. Carbon projects need to be owned and run by Indigenous people on their Country to be able to claim the Indigenous premium," said Daniel Oades, KLC.

"We’ve been in the carbon industry since 2017. Initially we were an Eligible Interest Holder, and just recently we acquired a piece of land on our County, so that now we can register our own carbon project. ICIN have been a very useful resource to us in regards to understanding how to operate in the carbon industry. Now we own and run our own carbon project and can claim the premium Indigenous carbon credit, which was difficult for us to do when we were the Eligible Interest Holder and not the owner," said Cassandra Stevens, Kullili-Bulloo AC.