In a world-leading public private arrangement, the BCT has entered a co-investment partnership with telecommunications giant Telstra to accelerate conservation on private land and create high-integrity carbon credits.
Launching our new co-investment partnerships opportunity, Minister for Environment James Griffin said the partnership between the BCT and Telstra will be the first of many agreements to come between landholders, the private sector and philanthropists to conserve land.
"This partnership between the BCT and Telstra is a breakthrough for natural capital investment in NSW, and it's just the beginning of what is possible by delivering outcomes for investors, landholders, and for our environment," Mr Griffin said.
"As demand increases from shareholders for environmentally responsible investments, our BCT Co-investment Partnerships program is a low risk, high impact opportunity to partner with government, and importantly, with landholders who own and manage 70 per cent of land in NSW.
"By partnering with organisations and businesses that share our environmental goals, we can enhance existing levels of biodiversity conservation on private land and achieve better outcomes for landholders and future generations."
The BCT is now seeking co-investment and philanthropic partners to further incentivise private land conservation in NSW. This is the first time any Australia government has offered a high-integrity opportunity for corporates and philanthropists to invest in long term biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration.
It's a unique investment opportunity that:
- unlocks additional revenue streams for landholders who are interested in diversifying their income
- actively encourages climate change mitigation and the protection of native species through biodiversity conservation
- brings integrity and confidence delivered by a transparent NSW Government agency with a strong track record.
The BCT's combined biodiversity and carbon conservation tender, launching in late 2022, will protect and restore threatened woodlands in the Murray-Riverina region.
Investors such as Telstra will be able to invest in carbon offsets through such conservation agreements.
This will create a new income stream for those landholders, while delivering a low risk, high impact investment through a trusted NSW Government mechanism.
The investment will also mean that ongoing planting and revegetation can be monitored over time, creating important habitat for native species in NSW.
To learn more, check out our co-investment partnerships prospectus here.