Bringing Back the Bounty: Climate Change and Animal Control

Abstract:     
Australia’s carbon pricing scheme includes a mechanism whereby changes in land use may generate offsets that can be applied to meet an entity’s emissions liability. This scheme, the Carbon Farming Initiative, includes within its scope projects to avoid emissions from introduced animals, where Australian Carbon Credit Units are issued in relation to avoided emissions of greenhouse gases, including methane. This paper considers an application for the approval of an offset activity aimed at the culling of feral camels in central Australia and draws a comparison between such an activity and a bounty scheme.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 9

Keywords: carbon pricing, carbon offset scheme, introduced animals, feral animals, bounty

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K32

Accepted Paper Series