Shell in carbon farming buy

Oil and gas player Shell is purchasing a Perth-based environmental services firm to help cut back on emissions, as well as further the company’s nature-based solutions business.

Shell, which is targeting net zero emissions by 2050, said buying Select Carbon would accelerate the growth of carbon farming throughout Australia.

Carbon farming refers to agricultural and land management methods that capture carbon in vegetation and soils, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The carbon credits generated through Select Carbon's projects are offered for sale through the federal government's Emissions Reductions Fund, creating an additional revenue stream for farmers and landowners. 

Founded in 2010, Select Carbon has three offices including in Subiaco, and manages more than 70 Australian projects covering around 9 million hectares.

That includes 38 Human Induced Regeneration projects in Western Australia, as well as 12 near-term projects.

Its team of 24 staff will be retained under the deal, Shell said.

Chairman Tony Nunan said it was the first acquisition made under Shell's Nature-Based Solutions business, which comprises projects that protect, transform or restore land.

"The scale of Australia's rangelands, ecological diversity and integrity of intact primary forests make this market a natural choice for Shell's first acquisition globally for our Nature-Based Solutions business and to further scale Shell's investment in this area here in Australia," Shell chairman Tony Nunan said.

Select Carbon chief executive Dean Revell said joining Shell would help capture new opportunities in land management.

"Combined, we have the experience and resources for large-scale, nature-based solutions that bring economic and community benefits to regional Australia," he said.

"It is a great opportunity to work alongside land managers to achieve multiple outcomes, including resilient regional businesses and landscape health.

"Our collective immediate actions, and those over the next few decades, will be critical to ensure liveable, productive and sustainable environments for generations to come."