Chapter 01 · Climate & transitionCarbon Markets & Offsetting
Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs)
Definition
A regulated, tradeable carbon unit issued by Australia's Clean Energy Regulator, each representing one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent stored or avoided by a registered project under the ACCU Scheme, established by the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011. Projects span vegetation management, agriculture, forestry, energy, waste, transport and industrial processes.
References
Scheme purpose and eligible project types; CFI Act 2011 basis; six Offset Integrity Standards.
One ACCU per tCO₂-e; secondary-market and government sales; Safeguard Mechanism demand.
Dual-track design with Safeguard Mechanism; ACCUs as financial products under the Corporations Act; oversight bodies.
Overview
What it means
The scheme is one of the world's longest-running national crediting systems (previously known through the Emissions Reduction Fund). Methods — legislated rules for calculating abatement — must meet six Offset Integrity Standards, including additionality and conservativeness.
Sequestration projects carry permanence obligations (25- or 100-year periods, with a 5% risk-of-reversal buffer and a 20% discount for 25-year projects).
How it is used
Participants earn ACCUs after verified reporting and can sell them on the secondary market or to the government under carbon abatement contracts. Demand comes from voluntary buyers and from compliance: facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism (emitting over 100,000 tCO₂-e per year) surrender ACCUs against declining baselines. ACCUs are regulated as financial products.
Why it matters
ACCUs are central to Australia's net-zero strategy and a test case for national crediting integrity — the scheme underwent an independent review (the 2022 Chubb Review) and triennial Climate Change Authority reviews after criticism of method integrity.