Super funds turn green
More than two thirds of Australia’s superannuation fund members have a taste for environmental investments which if fuelling demand for agricultural investments such as those which provide carbon credits.
Resnik Consultants figures show 69 per cent of super fund members would like to invest some super in agribusiness schemes. And developments in the valuing of carbon credits have made it an increasingly smart tax-effective agribusiness investment, according to Australian Plantation Timber (APT) director Don Church.
Speaking at the Post Ralph Advanced Taxation & Super Strategies Conference organised by Resnik Consultants, Church said the importance of the greenhouse effect and carbon value is seen with the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which set carbon emission targets to limit greenhouse gases.
However, Church says there are still risks involved with acquiring carbon value.
"It is a complex and expensive process, and the results may not always be as good as expected," he says.
More trees is also a solution to Australia's salinity problem, says Church, and government support seems likely with a $900 million federal and state funding proposal.
Church says commercial opportunities also exist in land clearing ventures to reduce secondary man-made salinity, however future issues will change both the focus and products.
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