Carbon Futures Australia, working alongside the Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance (AIHA), has introduced a hemp carbon certification methodology, debuting the framework at the Global Hemp Summit held in Melbourne last week.
The company applies blockchain technology to assess hemp's role in sequestering carbon and storing it over the long term.
Although hemp absorbs carbon through above-ground biomass and soil, its cultivation, processing, and manufacturing also generate emissions. This makes it necessary to collect data on those emissions as defined under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
Carbon Futures draws on that data to build a life-cycle analysis that weighs the inputs and outputs of hemp-derived products such as hempcrete.
The voluntary carbon market is tipped to reach US$10-25 billion by the close of this decade, and Carbon Futures CEO James Vosper described the trend as a potentially lucrative new avenue for farmers.
The company focuses on credits generated from harvested biomass, drawing on hemp's fast growth cycle of 90 to 120 days and its capacity to sequester around 22 tonnes of carbon per hectare.
Vosper said: "According to the World Bank, carbon prices need to reach $50-100 per tonne by 2030 to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement. At 22 tonnes of carbon per hectare, this represents a potential incremental gross income of US$2,200 per hectare, per crop.
"By engaging with Carbon Futures to gain AIHA certification, Australian farmers can access a significant additional income stream."
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